

20 



The Florists' Review 



NOTBMBIB 4, 1920 



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»e MARKETING SWEET PEAS <^ 



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BOPEB bimehing is the 

 most important phase of 

 marketing sweet peas. Al- 

 most from the beginning 

 of the sweet pea industry 

 the accepted standard in 

 the Chicago market has 

 been the flat corsage bnnch 

 of twenty-five flowers. In 

 many localities the grow- 

 ers seem to give little attention to the 

 important detail of bunching in an 

 attractive way. That a well made flat 

 bunch will sell more readily than a round 

 one needs no emphasizing. A few 

 crooked stems that are conspicuous in a 

 round bunch are easily concealed in a 

 flat one. The flat bunch natturally ships 

 better and, if it is well made, every 

 flower shows to advantage. 



The making of these flat bunches is 

 not a difficult matter for anyone with 

 an ordinary amount of patience. The 

 stems are held flrmly between the thumb 

 and forefinger of the left hand, while 

 the long-stemmed flowers are worked 

 into the top and the short ones into the 

 bottom of the bunch. In this way it is 

 built into a fan-like or oval shape. The 

 essential point is to keep the stems 

 spread out and held firmly between the 

 thumb and forefinger while making the 

 bunch, and especially while tying it. 

 For this we use No. 40 thread or a sim- 

 ilar light material. Bubber bands also 

 can be used, though for heavy, long- 

 stemmed stock we find the thread more 

 satisfactory. Practice soon makes this 

 work easy for anyone, though we find 

 the younger members of our force most 

 expert at it. 



Bunching at the Vines. 



Most of our bunching is done directly 



TUB la the third In the series of articles 

 on sweet peas by George J. Ball, of Olen 

 Ullyn, III., previous Installments of which ap- 

 peared In the October 7 and 21 Issues of The 

 BeTlew. 



at the vines while picking, though for 

 beginners the piclung and bunching 

 should be separate operations. During 

 recent seasons our work in this line 

 has been done on a piecework basis. 

 We have found this plan decidedly satis- 

 factory to all concerned, as it puts pep 

 into the work and is especially profit- 

 able when a heavy crop is on. An ex- 

 perienced picker easily gets out 200 

 bunches, or 5,000 peas, in a 10-hour day, 

 when flowers are plentiful. However, 

 irresponsible pickers need attention un- 

 der this arrangement, or they will leave 

 the vines with the appearance of having 

 passed through a cyclone. Another im- 

 portant detail is picking the flowers 

 at the proper stage of development. For 

 shipping, all the flowers on a stem 

 should not be fully open. If peas are 

 consigned to a commission house to be 

 reshipped and are to be a pleasure and 

 profit to the consignee, the picker should 

 be a responsible one. 



In storing the bunches, carefully avoid 

 crowding and rough handling. We find 

 an ordinary 6-inch flower pot, with the 

 bottom cemented, entirely satisfactory 

 for storing. From eight to a dozen 

 bunches are sufficient for one of these 

 pots. If stored in a low temperature, 

 the flowers are inclined to close. A dry, 

 ventilated atmosphere of about 50 de- 

 grees keeps them nicely. \ 



Eogulng and Seed Growin|^. 



Flowers grown under outdoor condi- 

 tions show up differently from those pro- 

 duced under the highly artificiaFcondi- 



Bunchfaig and Packing Sweet Peas for Shipment. 



tions of a greenhouse. This may ac- 

 count for the shortcomings of some new 

 kinds. It may also explain the presence 

 of the objectionable light pink shades 

 found in the popular variety. Pink and 

 White. Under greenhouse conditions, if 

 the roguing of this kind is put off until 

 after warm weather, these objectionable 

 colors are distinguished with difficulty 

 from the true Pink and White. 



Boguing and producing seed Under 

 glass are easy and interesting side lines, 

 making the growing of sweet peas as 

 entirely a greenhouse proposition as is 

 the growing of mums. 



We consider it more important to pro- 

 duce our own sweet pea seed than to 

 propagate our supply of mums. 



Methods of Improving Stock. 



We are frequently asked whether the 

 stock will deteriorate if grown continu- 

 ally under glass. If strong stock is 

 produced by growing it cold through the 

 winter and if flowers are' left for seed 

 before the plants are exhausted, I see 

 no reason why the stock should not im- 

 prove rather than weaken. My experi- 

 ence points that way. In twenty-five 

 years of mum growing, I have failed to 

 observe any decline in the vigor of the 

 stock that has been continually grown 

 under glass. In fact, the stock seems 

 to me to be accumulating vigor, clue 

 probably to new varieties obtained 

 through artificial crossing. I firmly be- 

 lieve in the influence of environment, 

 and in the case of greenhouse fltock, 

 unless it is forced unnaturally hard, I 

 see no reason why its environment 

 should not improve it. 



The Line-Breeding System. 



Improvenfent of the sweet pea may 

 be carried on along several lines. The 

 most important method, in my experi- 

 ence, is the single-plant culture or line- 

 breeding system. The latent character- 

 istics of single plants vary greatly. 

 Some break badly, while others breed 

 true to type. By starting with these 

 true ones, we have a clearer chance to 

 establish our type. I have found this 

 especially true in dealing with asters 

 and calendulas. 



The roguing method is a process of 

 elimination in which the possibilities of 

 a large number of plants are dealt with. 



Cross-Polllnatlon. 



Another method is the crossing of 

 flowers. The mechanical side of this 

 work is quite simple. The reproductive 

 organs of a pea flower are incased in the 

 keel. The pollen is removed from the 

 flower before it is ripe by opening this 

 keel with a needle, the anthers bearing 

 the pollen being easily removed. To 

 secure these anthers before the pollen 

 is dry, or ripe, a flower less than half 

 developed must be chosen. Examination 

 of a few blooms soon determines this. 

 After the anthers are removed, the keel 

 is folded back and a piece of tissue 

 paper about six inches square is hooded 

 over it. 



The weather should be warm and 

 bright for this work, and flr^wers near 

 a steam pipe should be selefeted. Two 



