HISTORY AND EVOLUTION 29 



the winter the conditions are most favor- 

 able. The approach of bright weather in 

 spring is the time to examine your sweet 

 peas to see whether they are growing. 

 Often the manure mulch keeps the soil 

 soggy and cold when the bare soil is be- 

 coming dry and warm. In such cases re- 

 move a portion or all of the mulch, leav- 

 ing it between the rows or near at hand, 

 so that if there should be a cold wave it 

 can be used to cover the plants. The 

 plants from fall-sown seed get an earlier 

 start than it is possible to secure by sow- 

 ing in the spring. The seed of standard 

 varieties of sweet peas is so cheap that the 

 fall-planting of sweet peas is an effort well 

 worth while. 



Spring Planting. As soon as the frost 

 is out of the ground and the soil is in work- 

 able condition in the spring, a heavy ap- 

 plication of superphosphate of lime should 



