

If you have not already dono so this is a 

 good time to plan for next year's rose garde-n. 

 This rose garden of Mr. E. Austin, St. Cathar- 

 ines, Ont., won 28 out of 30 prizes at a local 

 rose show. (Photo by H. 0. Goodman, St. 

 Catharines, Ont.! 



The Sweet Pea— A Queen of the Annuals' 



MY experience in two seasons of 

 f:ill-sown sweet peas is that on 

 the whole they do well and are 

 in bloom two or three weeks before 

 those sown in the spring. While 

 however, they will stand a good frost 

 even after they are up some inches, they 

 are apt to suffer if the severe frost 

 catches them after a spell of earliet" 

 warm weather, so that it is well to plant 

 the bulk of the crop in the spring. In 

 order that this may be done as soon as 

 the snow is off the ground, the soil 

 should be prepared in the fall in the man- 

 ner before described and left in a rough 

 state over winter. With the aid of a 

 line a small furrow is opened and the 

 seeds are planted from two to four inches 

 deep and from four to six inches apart. 

 Devotees of the old method of sowing 

 thickly in the manner of growing mus- 

 tard and cress for salad are gradually 

 disappearing, as the benefits of thin cul- 

 ture are seen. Each variety should be 

 carefully tagged with its name or num- 

 ber for identification. To econtomize 

 space the seeds are often planted in 

 double rows a foot apart, but the single 

 row affords more room for roots and 

 with more air and light the plants will 

 thrive better. 



As soon as the seedlings are three or 

 four inches hi>,'h they should be kept in 

 an upright position with small twiggy 

 boughs until strong enough to seize the 

 more permanent supports. As an alter- 

 native to fall planting, and in order to 

 .secure early flowers, many growers plant 

 their seeds in pots and place in a cool 

 greenhou.se .so that the plants may have 

 a good start and be ready to put out in 



•Extract from a paper read dnrinir November 



?,ilt,,r»i''"A"""''' *?""*'"''"" "' '''« Ontario Horti- 

 cultural Asflfjciation. 



H. M. Lay, Walkerton, Ont. 



April or May. X'ery good results were 

 obtained this year from a few sown in 

 pots sunk in a hotbed. They bloomed 

 about the same time as those planted 

 in the fall. 



Constant cultivation should now pro- 

 ceed between the rows as clo.se to the 

 plants as can be done without injury. 

 As the soil is rich, there will also be a 

 constant crop of weeds to remove. 



SUPPORTS 



Various supports are recommended. 

 Some growers prefer long branches with 

 plenty of twigs placed in the ground 

 inclining outwards, so that looking at 

 the row from the end it appears to be 

 V shaped. This is in order to better 

 support the top growth. Wire poultry 

 netting is an excellent substitute for 

 sticks, using two lengths of four foot 

 netting. As it can be used year after 

 year, it is a cheap mode of support. We 

 have found very satisfactory a support 

 made by using stakes two inches square 

 from eight to ten feet high and planting 

 them firmly in two rows a foot apart, al- 

 lowing eight feet between each pair of 

 stakes. The stakes at each end of the 

 row should be well guyed. Strong twine 

 is then carried along the outside of each 

 row of stakes by means of screws or 

 double-headed tacks. Screws are pre- 

 ferable, as the string can be tightened 

 between each stake more readily. The 

 rows of string are placed from four to 

 six inches apart. If found necessary, a 

 third series of strings can be used by 

 attaching them to cross bars on the 

 stakes about one foot apart. If the 

 string is stout and is taken down and 

 put away dry in the autumn, it should 

 last several seasons. As we have had 

 about two hundred yards of peas sup- 

 ported in this way, we find such little 



economies profitable. The rows should 

 be from five to six feet apart in order 

 to allow of proper cultivation and spray- 

 ing between them. 



As soon as warm weather commences, 

 a heavy mulch of well-rotted manure 

 should be spread on each side of the 

 rows and well worked in around the 

 roots of the plants. This will not only 

 keep the ground from getting baked by 

 the sun, but as watering is carried on, 

 its manurial value will be great. A se- 

 cond mulching should be applied a 

 month or six weeks later. 



Many of the first flower buds usually 

 fall off without opening, and when we 

 have been eagerly waiting to feast our 

 eyes on the new beauties of the season, 

 this is somewhat disappointing. How- 

 ever, our alarm is sooni dispelled by the 

 subsequent abundance of bloom which 

 the later buds unfold. By the end of 

 July the only question is how to keep 

 the peas picked, with such magical 

 rapidity do they appear every day upon 

 the vines. On no account must pods 

 be allowed to form if a long flowering 

 season is expected. After flowering is 

 well under way, the vitality of the plants 

 must be kept up by the application of 

 hquid manure, at least once a week. It 

 is advisable to use half a dozen kinds, 

 using a different manure each time. The 

 following are useful : Nitrate of soda,one- 

 quarter to one-half ounce to a gallon of 

 water. Sulphate of potash, one ounce. 

 Sulphate of ammonia one half ounce, infu- 

 sions of soot, guano, poultry, cow or 

 stable manure diluted to the strength of 

 weak tea. Put some of the substance in 

 a small sack in a barrel of rainwater, 

 allow it to soak for several hours, and 

 pound with a rake or other garden tool . 



