CHAPTER XII 

 IN THE LIBRARY 



A FEW years ago there were no books wholly devoted to 

 the Sweet Pea, except those which were more in the form 

 of catalogues published by one of the great Calif ornian 

 seed-growers. But the institution of the National Sweet 

 Pea Society changed all that. 



It is to the Society's credit that it was the first to 

 issue a book on the Sweet Pea ; this was the report of the 

 Bicentenary Celebration held at the Crystal Palace in 1899. 

 After a short interval the Society commenced to issue its 

 Annual, intended to foster a love of the flower, and to 

 widely distribute information in reference to cultural matters 

 and varieties. These issues were followed in rapid suc- 

 cession by others from private sources. For the complete 

 list that is given below we are mainly indebted to Mr. C. 

 Harman Payne's Florist's Bibliography. 



The Report of the Sweet Pea Bicentenary. Published 

 by the National Sweet Pea Society, and now probably 

 unprocurable. 



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