CHAPTER IV 

 GENERAL CULTURE 



IT has been said that the Sweet Pea can be grown in any 

 garden in the British Isles ; but one would not go as far as 

 to assert that the success achieved will be equally good in 

 all circumstances and conditions. Not only will the natural 

 soil and situation have an influence on the results, but 

 the character of the atmosphere must also be taken into 

 consideration ; and, beyond all these things, there is the 

 individuality of the cultivator. Nevertheless, the plant will 

 thrive and blossom fairly well even in the most untoward 

 surroundings, as has been proved to demonstration in some 

 of the most confined gardens of London and other crowded 

 cities. It is, however, imperative that the correct methods 

 of procedure shall be adopted from the start, and fortu- 

 nately these do not entail either serious expense or diffi- 

 cult labour, though the initial operations must necessarily 

 be rather heavy. 



Let us glance briefly at what may be termed the 

 essentials to success, assuming that the plants are being 

 cultivated for the adornment of the garden and for the 



