80 IN THE CHICAGO REGION 



There is a large amount of Sweet Peas planted during 

 late October and November. These plantings usually fol- 

 low Chrysanthemums, and Peas have been grown with 

 success for this market when sown as soon as the early 

 crops of Chrysanthemums have been cut, so that a good 

 start can be had before the real short days begin. The 

 crop to follow the later Chrysanthemums is usually sown in 

 small pots some weeks in advance so that no time may be 

 lost as soon as the benches become vacant. These plant- 

 ings make good late Winter and early Spring crops. The 

 first sowings are usually made in July for the earliest Win- 

 ter crops, and successive sowings follow as the space and the 

 opportunity presents itself to the grower, so that he may 

 have blooms from Thanksgiving to Memorial Day. The 

 Memorial Day trade usually nearly finishes the crops of 

 indoor grown Sweet Peas, and no sowings are made for 

 indoor culture that will come at a later date. 



During the past two years the Winter-blooming Spen- 

 cers have been the favorite varieties grown for this market. 

 They have to a very large extent eclipsed all the others; 

 that is to say, the grandifloras that have been cultivated 

 for so many years. The growers have also originated 

 some varieties of sterling merit in the vicinity of this mar- 

 ket that were offered to the trade for the first time in 1914. 

 These were Winter-blooming orchid-flowered Sweet Peas. 

 The merits of these are best known to all who have had 

 regular access to the Chicago wholesale market. The 

 limited stock of these that was offered was all sold at a 

 price equivalent to about six cents per single seed. These 

 same growers have other varieties, the quantity of which 

 is still limited, for which a price many times larger has been 

 offered and refused for the seeds. 



The Winter Sweet Pea has now acquired a prominent 



