60 CUTTINGS 



grander flowers do. For this end growers often sow the 

 seeds in raised benches that are only half a foot deep or 

 very little more, using fairly rich soil. Eighteen inches is 

 little enough between the rows: 2 ft. is better, and the 

 seedlings should be left at 4 in. apart in the rows. The 

 purpose of the present book, however, is to emphasize the 

 nobility of choice Sweet Peas and to try to have this 

 fragrant annual lifted to a higher plane. Its real value 

 is too often underestimated, and its cultivation is often a 

 travesty. 



Dwarf or Cupid Sweet Peas may be grown in benches 

 and will produce flowers that are good enough for button- 

 holes, but as a rule the stems are short and the Peas are 

 not to be compared with those of the grander kinds that 

 are grown in solid beds. They are decorative as plants, 

 and might be more frequently grown in pots for the con- 

 servatories of private places. 



Sweet Peas can also be grown on in pots, giving them 

 a shift from 2^-in. pots into 6-in., and from these into 

 12-in. They must be kept well fed. 



SWEET PEAS FROM CUTTINGS 



Of this method of propagating, which is occasionally 

 used for increasing novelties or other desirable varieties, 

 J. Chisholm wrote in the " Sweet Pea Annual " for 1910, 

 as follows: " From seeds sown under glass in September 

 we obtain plants that yield growths suitable for cuttings 

 in November. Three cuttings, sometimes four, are placed 

 in a three-inch pot, in light soil, and put in a warm house 

 until rooted. They are then transferred to a cool house 

 and grown steadily. With plenty of light and a free circu- 

 lation of air, the plants make steady growth, and when 

 they have filled the pots with their roots each potful is 



