352 POPULAR GARDEN FLOWERS 



may be tied to the sticks, but when they get to be 

 eighteen inches high they will form tendrils freely and 

 get a tight hold, twining round every stem and twig. 

 Should the weather be dry, a good soaking of water, 

 in which nitrate of soda at the rate of half an ounce 

 per gallon has been dissolved, may be given twice 

 a week. This, with the good soil under the plants, will 

 insure their making rapid progress. Exhibitors practise 

 various plans to insure strong stems and continuity of 

 flowering. One fancies stopping the plants when a 

 foot high by pinching off the tips, in order to encourage 

 side shoots from the base. Another believes in letting 

 them grow naturally till the end of July, and, after 

 winning a number of prizes, cutting the plants right 

 back to the ground for a new break. A third stops half 

 his plants at four feet high. The general grower need 

 not trouble about any of these devices, but there is one 

 thing that he must do if he wants to have a long succes- 

 sion of flowers, and that is to gather regularly. Weekly 

 drenchings of liquid manure will help the plants to 

 continue growing and flowering until autumn : the food 

 will also help to keep the stems long, and this is a 

 great advantage to those who want flowers for room 

 decoration. 



Exhibiting. Sweet Pea competitions are general in 

 these days, and as the flower is not an expensive one 

 to exhibit, many amateurs try their luck in the show 

 tent. Stands and tubes are not wanted, as they are 

 in the case of Carnations, Chrysanthemums, Dahlias, 

 and Roses ; Sweet Peas being shown in vases. At many 

 exhibitions these are hired to exhibitors by the com- 

 mittee at a small charge ; if not, any slender vase from 

 eight inches to a foot high, with a mouth wide enough 

 to hold about twenty stems without crowding, will do. 



