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SOME SUCCESSES 



IN SWBET PEAS 



Mos^ fascinating is the story of the experiences of a raiser of new va- 

 rieties. He, as well as the sweet peas, has his trials. His reward is the 

 varieties suitable for dissemination. One of the most expert raisers has 

 written for The Review the following/ story of his successes this season. 



GAINST the cry of "There 

 are too many varieties," 

 I might cite the remark 

 made to me last March by 

 one of the largest middle- 

 we&t growers of winter- 

 flowering sweet peas; 

 namely, that the culture 

 of sweet peas under glass 

 was still in its infancy and 

 that the advent of new colors and forms 

 would still further enhance the ever- 

 increasing popularity of this beautiful 

 annual. Such a statement coming from 

 an authority, one who makes the grow- 

 ing of sweet pea flowers a business, 

 should be a decided stimulus to all rais- 

 ers of new varieties. 

 The day when 

 only three or four 

 colors were in de- 

 mand is past. The 

 old Pink and White 

 (Blanche Ferry col- 

 or) was then the 

 popular favorite, 

 but the discrimi- 

 nating public wants 

 more desirable 

 shades or at least a 

 greater range of 

 colors. The advent 

 of Bose Queen and 

 a few other varie- 

 ties, some years ago, 

 did much towards 

 creating this desire, 

 and at the present 

 time practically all 

 the principal colors 

 found in this family 

 are in existence 

 among the early- 

 flowering varieties, 

 although they are in 

 some instances not 

 yet in commerce. 



Surprises. 



In the quest for 

 certain colors it is 

 surprising what at 

 times turns up. For 

 instance, in a se- 

 ries of crosses made 

 by me with the 

 hope of securing 

 rich salmon and 

 pure orange-colored 

 early-flowering va- 

 rieties, in addition 

 to being rewarded 

 with these colors, I 

 obtained from the 

 same crosses two 

 immense cherry 



By GEORGE W. 



KERR> 



cerises, in a light and deep shade, one 

 of which will be introduced under the 

 name of Cheerful. There also resulted 

 a giant-flowered light orange-pink, 

 quite distinct from any variety of the 

 summer-flowering type, which, on ac- 

 count of its huge flowers and delightful 

 color, should become quite popular. This 

 has been named Flamingo. These same 

 crosses have also given a number of 

 fine summer-flowering novelties, one of 

 which, a rich rose, will in time be of- 

 fered under the name of Rosalind. In 

 addition to the rose seedling, there are 

 a number of promising orange, orange- 

 scarlet, crimson, shrimp-pink and bright 



Vase of New Early-Flowering Orange-Pink Sweet Pea> Flamiogo. 



cerise selections, all late flowering, 

 which I hope will become standards in 

 their several classes when we have tried 

 and trued them for another season or 

 longer, according to their behavior. 

 They certainly looked like winners at 

 our Floradale Farm, in California, and 

 again when I got back to Fordhook and 

 found them all in full bloom around the 

 middle of June. 



The presence of the late-flowering 

 seedlings is accounted for by the fact 

 that in all these crosses a late-flowering 

 variety was one of the parents. 



As already explained, the crosses just 

 referred to were made with a certain 

 color in view, and this I was lucky 

 enough to get; namely, a rich, pure 

 salmon self. In 

 color it is similar to 

 the late - flowering 

 variety, Barbara, at 

 its best, and when 

 grown under glass 

 it is simply superb. 

 Named Mrs. Kerr, 

 when exhibited at 

 the international 

 flower show in New 

 York, last March, it 

 created a sensation, 

 the judges signify- 

 ing their approval 

 of it by awarding it 

 a certificate of 

 merit. In contra- 

 distinction to some 

 seedlings, Mrs. Kerr 

 has been perfectly 

 fixed, coming true 

 since the first plants 

 bloomed in the 

 second generation 

 of the cross. It is 

 doubtful, however, 

 if there will be suf- 

 ficient seed to offer 

 before the fall of 

 1921. 



Disappointments. 



The most inter- 

 esting of a seed 

 grower's work is 

 surely the raising of 

 new varieties, but 

 in addition to the 

 prizes secured many 

 disappoint- 

 ments await him. 

 What may appear 

 to be a winner so 

 often turns out to 

 be no improvement 

 over some existing 

 sort, or it may be 



