SWEET PEAS UP TO DATE 



Now, as to the kind of manure to apply. We 

 know that growers of experience have their own pet 

 manures and mixtures, but the following may all be 

 relied upon. One of the least expensive, and one which 

 at the same time almost serves a double purpose by both 

 feeding the plant and acting as an insecticide, is soot. 

 Place about a peck of soot in a bag and let it dissolve 

 for a few hours in an old tub or barrel filled with water. 

 Guano may be used in the proportion of one pound to 

 twenty gallons of water; or sulphate of potash, one 

 ounce to one gallon of water. Farmyard liquid manure, 

 used about the color of weak tea, is also of service, 

 and nitrate of soda might be used occasionally at the 

 rate of, say, % ounce to a gallon of water. When using 

 liquid manure, it is well to let it follow a thorough 

 soaking with clear water, that the fertilizing material 

 may penetrate to the lowest roots, and if possible all 

 watering should be done after the sun has gone down, 

 as this will to a great extent save the cracking of the 

 soil and allow the plants to get the full benefit of the 

 moisture. Spraying the vines overhead in the cool 

 of the evening will be found to benefit the plants during 

 a hot, dry spell. 



BUDS DROPPING 



Where the plants have been well cultivated and heav- 

 ily manured and the vines consequently are growing 

 vigorously, it sometimes happens that a large propor- 

 tion of the first buds drop from the flower stem before 

 opening, and it often follows a period of wet and cool 

 weather. But the grower need not be alarmed at this, 

 as the vines will soon assume their natural mode of 



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