THE GARDEN AT HOME 



hesitation in including Sweet Peas among the homely 

 flowers, but with great improvements in the flower itself, 

 elaborate methods of cultivation, special soil mixtures, 

 special manures, and special ways of training them have 

 been introduced, and possibly the material at the disposal 

 of the grower is not quite so accommodating as it was. 

 The plants seem more prone to disease than they used 

 to be. Still I think for those who elect to grow it 

 in a homely way the Sweet Pea may still be classed as 

 a homely flower. At any rate, it is a fashionable one. 

 The healthiest plants at least in the garden of the 

 inexperienced are those grown in well-tilled rather than 

 in well-manured ground. If the soil is poor, the best 

 and safest material to dig in where it is proposed to grow 

 the Peas is turf which has been stacked for a year. It is 

 then described as being in a mellow condition, and is 

 easily chopped into pieces the size of one's fist, and pro- 

 vides unsurpassed material for the plants. It is a mis- 

 take to dig in rank manure, for this produces a soft 

 gross growth that readily succumbs to disease. If well- 

 rotted farmyard manure is available in autumn, have it 

 dug in 1 8 inches deep, but do not apply it in spring just 

 before the plants and seeds are put out. Sweet Peas are 

 deep-rooting plants, and to give them a real chance the 

 soil should be trenched that is, it should be disturbed 

 to the depth of 3 feet. 



It is a common practice to sow the seeds singly in 

 small pots 2j inches wide, or several in one pot 4 inches 



