126 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



Cauliflower also seeds well some years, but in others it 

 completely fails, which renders its average below the profit 

 line. Lima beans for seed have failed, except in the 

 southern coast district described in the chapter on beans, 

 but in that district growers have enjoyed some very 

 profitable contracts with Eastern dealers. 



Flower Seeds. Various flowers have been grown for 

 seed, in fact, a great assortment of varieties, and, while 

 nearly all kinds flourish, there is so much hand work and 

 close application necessary, that we have not been able to 

 successfully compete with Europe on most things. Sweet 

 peas; nasturtiums, cosmos, verbenas, petunias, balsams, 

 poppies, sunflowers, phlox, mignonette and asters are quite 

 successfully grown, and the seed trade looks to California 

 for most of the sweet peas and a great many of the nas- 

 turtiums. Southern California has several very prominent 

 growers of fine double petunias and other plants. 



The rapid advance of the California sweet pea seed in 

 popularity is most marvelous. A beginning was made in 

 this line in a moderate way about 1885, when there were 

 not over a dozen varieties listed. At first about a quarter 

 of an acre was grown ; now the total acreage is about 

 1250 acres, as stated. So important a factor have the 

 California sweet pea growers become to the seed trade 

 that some dealers come from the East annually to inspect 

 the growing crops and to hunt for novelties in the sweet 

 pea line. One will know California sweet pea wherever 

 grown by its wonderful vigor. 



Sweet peas are planted in November and December to 

 secure the flowers at their very best about the middle of 

 May. They grow slowly throughout the winter, but just 

 as soon as the days lengthen and the weather grows warm, 

 they fairly spring into bloom, while later sown seed will 

 mature blossoms correspondingly late. 



The careful grower devotes a great deal of time to 

 roguing his crops. In spite of the greatest care in selec- 



