XI 



JULY 

 SWEET PEAS 



The sweet pea has long been recognized as a necessity in 

 every well-ordered garden. It has been grown in America 

 for at least a hundred years, but only during the last three 

 decades has it become the universal favorite that we now 

 acknowledge. This is largely due to the great improvement 

 in varieties that has taken place since the time Mr. Henry 

 Eckford of England began to cultivate the older sorts with a 

 view to their improvement. To his painstaking and long 

 continued labors we are indebted for most of our beautiful 

 modern sorts. The result of these attempts may be seen in 

 any catalogue, where the Eckford varieties form so large a 

 part of all which are considered worthy of planting. 



The different types of sweet pea blossoms are due chiefly 

 to the variations in the shape and positions of the petals 

 which form the showy parts of the flower. Like all com- 

 plete blossoms, the sweet pea has four sets of organs. The 

 sepals, which taken together form the calyx, are the small 

 green pointed bodies at the base of the flower on the outside; 

 they are grown together below. The petals, which as a whole 

 form the corolla, constitute, as just stated, the showy part of 

 the flower. The peculiar form of the sweet pea blossom is 

 due to the irregularity of the petals. The large upright one 

 at the top of the flower is called the standard, the two re- 

 curved ones in the middle of the flower are called the wings, 



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