44 
ios {111 HENRY A DREER-DHIIADELPHIA-DA’ es) RELIABLE FLOWER SEEDS | {T] 
seLecr SWEET PEAS. 
There are now in commerce, including the New Orchid-flow- 
sred type, over 300 varieties of Sweet Peas, with new sorts being 
added every year. Many of this vast number are either small- 
Zowering, of weakly growth, or lacking in some characteristic 
which a first-class variety should have. Every year our list is 
sarefully revised, with a view to keeping it strictly up-to-date; 
and while it seems hard to dispense with some of the once pop- 
mlar kinds, yet it must be done to keep up with the march of 
progress, and if you miss some old favorite in our list, it has 
been discarded in favor of a new and improved sort of the same 
telor. 
Every variety we offer is entitled to a place in the front rank 
af Sweet Peas; but as most amateurs only wish a limited num- 
ser of sorts, we have made up collections comprising the very 
§nest and most distinct Orchid-flowered and Standard sorts, 
which we offer on page 62. 
HOW TO GROW SWEET PEAS. 
The soil for Sweet Peas should be rich and deep. A good 
‘ich loam, with plenty of well-rotted manure in it, is the ideal 
il for raising good plants that will produce plenty of blooms of 
good substance. Soils that are at all heavy are best dug in the 
autumn, and during the winter months a good dressing of hard- 
wood ashes or air-slaked lime should be given it. They should 
%e in a position fully exposed to the sunlight and air on both 
tides of the row. 
Much depends on the state of the weather as to when the 
seed may Be sown out-of-doors; but they should be sown as 
early in the season as the ground can be worked, which is usually 
between the middle of March and the middle of April in the 
atitude of Philadelphia. It is best to make a trench or furrow 
about six inches deep, in the bottom of which sow the seed 
thickly. Cover the seed with about an inch of soil, pressing it 
down firmly. As soon as they are above ground, thin out to 
"wo inches apart; if they are closer than this they do not usually 
attain their full development. As soon as the plants are about 
+ foot high,. fhe balance of the soil may be filled in the trench. 
They should be staked up either with branches of brush or stout 
itakes on which wire netting has been fastened. These should 
be at least four feet high, and five feet would be better. It is 
ust as well to da the staking at the time of sowing, or it may 
be done before filling in the trench. 
During dry weather, they should be watered thoroughly and frequently and given an application of liquid manure once a week. 
A. mulch of hay or rakings from the lawn will be found beneficial during hot weather. The flowers should be cut as often as pos 
sible, and-all withered blooms should be removed, to prevent the plants from running to seed, which would stop them from con 
tinuing in bloom, 
Sweet Peas should not be grown on the same soil two or three years in succession. In some gardens there is just one spot where 
st 1s convenient to have them, in which case the soil, to the extent of a foot wide and deep, should be removed, and replaced with 
anew soil from another part of the garden. 
White-seeded varieties should not be sown until the ground is comparativel y dry and warm. If sown under cold, wet conditions, 
the seed will rot in the ground. With few exceptions. Sweet Peas are black-seeded, and these do not appear to be affected like the 
white-seeded sorts, 
DREER’S ORCHID-FLOWERED SWEET PEAS. 
The introduction of this type has created new interest, and added to the popularity of Sweet Peas. They are quite distinct from 
the standard sorts, having large, round, open flowers of extraordinary size, usually measuring two inches across, with wavy stand- 
ards and wide-spreading wings, a very large percentage bearing four of these immense blossoms to the stem, which is long and 
strong, making them of exceptional value for cutting, All of the sorts offered below have been thoroughly tested, and are just as 
easy to grow as the standard varieties. 
ORCHID-FLOWERED SWEET PEAs. 
* 4062 Apple Blossom Spencer. Rose and pink, beauti- | * 4126 Helen Pierce. Marbled blue ona white ground, ex- 
fully waved. 15 cts. per pkt.; 50 cts. per oz.; $1.50 actly like a mottled Gloxinia, 
per } lb, 4i41 John Ingman. _ Rich rose-carmine, veined deeper. 
* 4071 Black Knight Spencer. Rich, deep maroon, 15 4153 King Edward Spencer. Bright crimson-scarlet; 
cts, per pkt.; 75 cts. per oz.; $2.50 per } lb very large. 15 cts, per pkt,; 7d cts. per oz; $2.50 
* 4086 Countess Spencer. A lovely clear pink, shading per 4 Ib. 
deeper at the edges. 4178 Mrs. Alfred Watkins. A superb pale pink, the ex- 
4101 E. J. Castle. Bright crimson-rose, with veins of quisite flowers borne on very long stems. 
deeper rose. 1182 Mrs. Walter Wright Spencer. A_ beautiful 
* 4107 Florence M. Spencer. Delicate blush with pink shade of deep mauve, 15 cts. pér pkt.; 75 cts. per oz.; 
margin, a charmingly beautiful flower of very large size. $2.50 per 4 Ib. 
* 4112 Frank Dolby. The largest and finest pale lavender- 1186 Nora Unwin. Superb pure white. 
blue. 4197 Phyllis Unwin. Light rose-carmine,of very large size. 
* 4117 George Herbert. Bright rose-carmine. “4198 Primrose Spencer. A pronounced primrose or 
4120 Gladys Unwin. Charming shade of pale rose-pink. creamy-yellow. 
* 4125 Helen Lewis ( Orange Countess). Brilliant crim- 1949 White Spencer. A pure white of enormous size and 
son-orange, wings orange-rose splendid substance, long, strong stems. 
Price. Any of the above, except where noted, 10) cts. per pkt.; 20 cts. per oz.; 50 cts. per + lb. 
4239 Collection of a packet each of the 12 best sorts (marked *), for $1.00, or 1 ounce of each, $38.50, 
4269 Orchid-flowered Mixed. A splendid mixture, 10 cts. per pkt.; 15 cts. per oz.; 40 cts. per 4 1b.; $1.25 per Ib, 
