SWEET PEAS FOR EARLY FLOWERING 533 



bound, they are very apt to become stunted; this would result in 

 the formation of buds that would never amount to anything. Bench 

 the plants as they are in the pots about 6 in. apart, allowing 15 in. 

 between the rows; the soil you use for the Carnations will do nicely, 

 and the temperature also. You will want at least 7 or 8 ft. of head- 

 room for the plants, also wires along the rows and near the glass, 

 with heavy twine between as supports. 



Another way is to plant on solid beds, 6 ft. or more in width 

 in which two double rows can be planted. Fasten two heavy wires 

 lengthwise over the bench, about 1 ft. from the outer edges and 

 plant the double rows so as to have the wire in the center. By this 

 method you may not obtain quite as early flowers, but the plants 

 will stay in bloom much longer and keep on producing longer stems. 

 You should have at least 8 ft. of headroom. 



Peas for February and Later Flowering 



Seed sown either in benches or beds to follow a crop of early 

 or midseason Chrysanthemums will not of course give plants for 

 Midwinter flowering, but by the end of February or the first part of 

 March, extra fine flowers will be ready and they will keep on coming. 

 Sowings of seed may be made all Winter for indoor flowering, even 

 as late as March if you can spare the room. 



If you sow in rows don't forget to thin out when the plants are 

 about 3 in. high. Each plant should have at least 3 in. of space. 

 If you crowd them, all you can expect is one stem running straight 

 upfthose that have room wiU branch out and make Tjy far the 

 best plants. The retail grower cannot make any mistake in making 

 several sowings of seed in Sj/^-in. pots during the Winter months. 

 If by the time the plants are ready to be planted out you have no 

 place to put them, and have to throw them out, not much harm is 

 done; and often, when some other crop happens to fail, the plants 

 will come in handy and enable you to save a lot of time that you 

 would have lost if you had to sow the seeds. 



It is almost thirty years ago that the writer grew a bench of 

 Sweet Peas under glass. They were Blanche Ferry and the seed 

 was sown in pots in October and the plants set out in a bench emptied 

 of W. H. Lincoln Chrysanthemums. They started to flower by the 

 early part of May but didn't amount to much until the end of that 

 month. While we haven't changed a great deal in matters of culture 

 or treatment, for your very best Peas sow in north and south rows 

 in a sohd bed about the middle of January. Some of the newest 

 sorts, in a bright, sunny house with good ventilation, after the bed 

 is dug over deeply and given a light dose of well-decomposed manure 



