AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



of the flowers so that no seed can form, whereby 

 continuous and increasing flowering will be in- 

 sured. This precludes the possiblHty of your 

 gathering your own seed, but this is of little 

 moment, as perfectly satisfactory seeds can be 

 purchased at a reasonable price, which will come 

 true to the promised colors. The beds must be 

 kept wet during blooming, and some mulching — 

 that is, covering the surface of the ground with 

 various light materials, such as leaf-mould or 

 manure, to prevent the drying of the soil — is of 

 advantage. A thorough wetting with manure 

 water once a month would also be advantageous, 

 and excite renewed growth and increased bloom 

 to the vines. If the vines grow too rapidly, giv- 

 ing comparatively little bloom, I clip off the tops 

 and add wood ashes to the manure water. I 

 have also at times added a handful of nitrate of 

 soda to the watering-pot and thought it beneficial. 

 The seedsmen have created something like two 

 hundred varieties of Sweet Peas, by far the greater 

 portion being merely a duplication of names for 

 practically the same coloring, and twenty-five 

 varieties would about cover all that are essentially 

 different. As a decoration, a mass of Sweet Peas 

 of the same coloring is far more beautiful than a 



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