THE SWEET PEA. 55- 



Now we have just come into ]\[r. Eckford's finest work. He 

 has gone very cautiously. He has the soul of a careful, pains- 

 taking, conservative florist. And he has been among aristocrats 

 enough to become a dear old aristocrat himself. He has not had 

 to beg any favors from the trade, and now he says, If you 

 want this new set of advance novelties the price will be fifteen 

 shillings whether you take one set or a thousand sets. Here- 

 tofore we liave been one year behind on his novelties, but by 

 paying the retail price they are open to us without any condi- 

 tions. We are already at the point of Mr. Eckford's finest work 

 on each color, and the time has come to sift the list of varieties 

 thoroughly, and discard a large number of inferior sorts. We 

 can now select a royal group, and hold them up to the finest 

 grandiflora type. We can bring the number down to thirty. 

 Mr. Eckford still has a rich treasure in his advance seedlings. 

 He has a white that will surpass all previous white sorts. He 

 has finer blue than we have yet seen. Doubtless a great quantity 

 of cheap seed will be grown for our common trade, and at current 

 prices little effort will be made to grow such stock for quality, 

 and, since the great bulk of Sweet Peas are sold in mixed form, 

 the cheap pound and packet trade Avill be satisfied with this field- 

 grown stock. 



A word about Mr. Eckford's gardens at Wem. It is a short, 

 pleasant ride down from Liverpool past Chester and Whitchurch 

 to the old-fashioned, huddled town of Wem. After a few minutes' 

 walk outside the town along the English lanes you come to a high- 

 hedged floral bower with high padlocked gates, through which, 

 you see the bright evidences of high-class gardening. Here is 

 Mr. Eckford's floral workshop, five acres in extent, soon to be 

 enlarged to take in four acres more. 



Mr. Eckford does not grow his trade stock here. Indeed, his 

 great perplexity is to get his novelties properly grown for the 

 trade. Of late his trade stock has been grown down in Essex, a 

 great seed section. 



The most noticeable part of his Wem garden is two acres of what 

 he calls his seedlings. In this he plants all his selections of seed, 

 from the latest work, of every color. Erom this field of seedlings 

 he selects such as he wishes to prepare for trade introduction. 

 It was a rich treat to wander back and forth through those two 

 acres of rows. They are all bushed enough to keep them oft; the 



