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SWEET PEAS AT ^ 

 '<^ SOCIETY'S CENTER 



Seventh annual exhibition of American Sweet Pea Society, held at 

 Newport, R. I., July 15 and 16, was much the best yet, but anticipated 

 social success was iwt achieved, owing to a conflicting garden fete that 

 proved a superior attraction for the elite. 



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HE seventh annual exhibi- 

 tion and convention of the 

 American Sweet Pea Soci- 

 ety, held in the Casino at 

 Newport, K. I., July 15 

 and 16, set a ne^^ ki|:h 

 water mark for this so- 

 ciety. The exhibits were 

 more numerous than ever 

 before and the quality has 

 never been equaled. It is a diflScult 

 matter to set a date for a sweet pea 

 show in 80 variable a climate as that 

 of America, and when such an exhibi- 

 tion is held, exhibits can only come 

 from within a somewhat limited radius, 

 ■owing to hot weather. This season tor- 

 rential rains and persistent fogs de- 

 stroyed many fine flowers in Newport 

 and elsewhere, but no one looking at 

 the superb flowers staged would have 

 imagined that there had been any un- 

 favorable climatic 

 conditions. Flowers 

 came in flne shape 

 from Bar Harbor, 

 Me., a journey of 

 400 miles, and many 

 of the leading pre- 

 miumEt went to ex- 

 hibitors from 

 Lenox, Mass., 22;") 

 miles away. 



The attrat-tive- 

 ness of Newport as 

 a beautiful and 

 fashionable summer 

 resort brought more 

 visitors from a dis- 

 tance than had ever 

 previously been 

 seen at a sweet pea 

 exhibition. 



NotaUe Exhibits. 



A noteworthy 

 feature of the show 

 was the remarkable 

 display of sweet 

 peas growing in 

 tubs on the broad 

 piazza of the Ca- 

 sino. Nothing like 

 these had ever be- 

 fore been seen at a 

 national sweet pea 

 show. There were 

 dozens of them, 

 varying from six to 

 eight feet in height, 

 and of proportion- 

 ate width, some tied 

 on wire frames, 

 others with birch 

 bruHh supports, car- 



rying hundreds of flowers each, all in 

 the most perfect health. 



The finest flowers in the vase classes 

 were all grown on disbudded plants. 

 Such plants are set out singly and 

 given ample room apart. The main 

 stem only is allowed to grow and all 

 side shoots removed. On such plants 



William Gray, President-elect Amerlcao Sweet Pea Society. 



massive stems, fifteen to twenty inches 

 long, are produced, all carrying four 

 flowers each, and at future sweet pea 

 shows the winning flowers will more 

 and more be produced in this way, 

 which has been adopted in Great 

 Britain for years. Such flowers as 

 these should bring $3 per hundred at 

 wholesale easily, as compared with a 

 maximum of 50 cents for the best com- 

 mercial peas now seen in summer. 



Business Session. 



At the annual meeting of the society, 

 in the absence of President Lester L. 

 Morse, in California, and the illness 

 of Vice-president Kirby, ex-President 

 William Sim, of Cliftondale, Mass., was 

 elected temporary chairman. An ad- 

 dress of welcome, on behalf of the New- 

 port Garden Association, was made by 

 Wm. P. Sheffield, following which Pres- 

 ident William Mac- 

 Kay, of the New- 

 port' Horticultural 

 Society, made a fur- 

 ther address of wel- 

 come. 



President Morse's 

 address was read by 

 Secretary Bunyard. 

 It is printed in full 

 in this issue. Prof. 

 A, C. Beal gave a 

 talk on the sixty 

 forcing varieties, 

 seventy new and 

 seventy old outdoor 

 sweet peas tested at 

 the Cornell trial 

 grounds. He thought 

 it would prove in- 

 teresting in future 

 years to compare 

 some of these old 

 varieties with the 

 newer creations of 

 the hybridists. Prof. 

 Beal said he hopes 

 the seed houses will 

 help with contribu- 

 tions 6f seeds and 

 Arthur T. Bodding- 

 ton, Stumpp & Wal- 

 ter Co., and W. A. 

 Burpee & Co. all 

 pledged supplies of 

 iieede<l varieties. 



The treasurer 's 

 report showed a 

 small cash balance. 

 The $347 of uncol- 

 lected dues seemed 

 large for a small 

 society and plans to 



