SWEET PEAS AND THEIR CULTURE 85 



As to fertilizer, bone combinations are recognized 

 as among" the best. English gardeners recommend 

 ordinary soot, this not only because of its fertilizing 

 value, but also its action in keeping away insects. 

 One method of using this is as follows : Take a peck 

 of soot in a bag and let it dissolve for a few hours 

 in a pail or tub of water. Guano may be used in the 

 proportion of one pound to 20 gallons of the water. 

 Farm yard manure in a liquid state, about the con- 

 sistency of weak tea, is very good. Nitrate of soda 

 should be used sparingly, and only at the start, to 

 force the plants along. 



One New York enthusiast gives the following ex- 

 perience : " Last year I sowed sweet peas early in 

 May, along the east side of the house. A trench was 

 dug six inches deep in which was placed some well- 

 rotted cow manure. A little earth was placed over 

 this, and the seeds sown. They were covered with 

 about two inches of dirt. When peas were well ur 

 I placed eight-inch boards around the bed to hold 

 in the dirt and as the plants grew I put in a mixture 

 of two parts good, rich earth and one part w'ell- 

 rotted manure, also one part wood ashes. This was 

 filled in occasionally until the soil was even with 

 the top of the boards. July i the peas were three 

 feet tall and had started blooming. They continued 

 until November, and were a continual mass of 

 blossoms, reaching a height of seven feet. They were 

 watered almost every night after sundown." 



Sweet peas are occasionally grown in greenhouses 

 to furnish winter bloom. The early varieties will 

 require two to three months to furnish profusion 

 of bloom. They are usually started in pots, kept 

 cool in the early stage, and later forced with heat 



