364 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



Cultivation. With the first appearance of weeds the 

 hand hoe or the wheel hoe cultivator should be used between 

 the rows. With each hoeing or cultivation the soil should be 

 drawn up around the growing plants. 



Vine support. If the student does not wish to go to the 

 trouble and expense of stretching wire for the vines, bushy 

 branches three or four feet long thrust firmly into holes will 

 afford a support to the growing vines. The spring rains will 

 cause the vines to grow very rapidly, and the peas must be 

 hoed at frequent intervals and the soil kept carefully rounded 

 up about the plants. 



Keep blooming. If the sweet peas are planted as early 

 as the ground and weather conditions permit, the first blos- 

 soms may be picked by the 4th of July, about three months 

 after the planting. In order to have the best results with 

 sweet peas they must be kept growing constantly and the 

 blossoms must be picked regularly to produce long-stemmed 

 flowers on the new growth. If the stems begin to shorten, 

 bone-meal fertilizer may be hoed in around the roots with 

 good results. A constant supply of beautiful blossoms with 

 long stems should be produced from the beginning of the 

 blossoming season until the frost. 



During August plant lice and mildew may appear. These 

 are combated successfully with Bordeaux mixture or nico- 

 tine and kerosene solution. 



Marketing flowers. If the student wishes to sell his sweet 

 peas, the flowers should be 'tied in bunches of twenty-five 

 stems each and placed in a cellar or other cool place. Early 

 the following mo-rning the bunches should be sold on the 



