CHAPTER IV 



Cultivation 



Sweet Peas like an open and sunny position free from 

 the approach of shade. In a dark or badly lighted house, 

 or in a dull position outdoors, they become drawn, weak, 

 spindly, and may fail to flower. Where there is danger of 

 the flowers being scorched by too brilliant sunshine, as 

 sometimes happens to the orange and blue shades particu- 

 larly, temporary screens can be fixed up, composed of the 

 flimsiest scrim, cheese cloth, or mosquito netting, which 

 sells at 3c. per sq. ft., stretched between poles, to shade the 

 blooms. Or the glass of the house, in the case of the indoor 

 crop, can be sprayed with Iimewash. 



THE SOIL 



No one need attempt to grow the best Sweet Peas if 

 he has a shallow soil or a soil upon which labor has not 

 been spent in preparing it. One of the secrets of Sweet 

 Pea cultivation is a proper soil, and certainly a deep rooting 

 medium. The man who tries cultivating this quick grow- 

 ing annual in a shallow bench or trench of little depth, may 

 get a crop of flowers, and if the soil is rich and is fertilized 

 he may get some blooms that are good while they last, but 

 depend upon it, the flowering period will be short. As it 

 takes twelve to fifteen__weeks to get the plant to a bloom- 

 ing condition, it is worth while to prepare the tilth thor- 

 oughly and get the best returns over the longest period. 



If one consults different authorities as to the kind or 

 quality of soil he will find divergent opinions. Some will 



