Novembep, 1913 



THE (GARDEN AND FIELD. 



Origin of the Sweet Pea. 



The swtvt pea has bcou iraued 

 l)ack to 1650. The origin of the 

 sweet pea is di\ idetl principally be- 

 tween SicU} and Leylon, the ori- 

 ginal purple variety being native 

 to the iorrnvr Island and Sardinia. 

 Sicily was also the native habitat 

 of the white vaintty. Testimony 

 also points to Ceylon as the home 

 of the original pink and white 

 \ariety, known as the Painted 

 I,ad)- ; the original red also came 

 Ceylon. 



Father Franciscus Cupani, an 

 Italian monk and botanist, is 

 credited with being the first culti- 

 \ator of this ilower at Panormus 

 m Sicily, in 1694, and the seed of 

 the purple variety was sent by 

 him to Kngland and elsewhere. 



The seed of svyeet pea became an 

 article of comm^erce as early as 

 1730. In 1793, a London seed 

 catalogue listed . four varieties, 

 Black, Purple, White and Painted 

 Lady. About 1876, Henry Eck- 

 ford, of Shropshire, England, took 

 up the sweet pea. He began with 

 six of: seven common sorts and 

 put out over 100 varieties. The 

 great boom in England began with 

 the Spencer type. Strange as it 

 may appear the beautiful colours 

 we now enjo}- in the Sweet Pea 

 are a " degradation.'-^ The ori- 

 ginal purple contains them all but 

 thev are masked. 



The star of the Sweet Pea is 

 still in the ascendant — indeed, it 

 soars higher and higher every yeaT. 

 It is very important that garden- 

 ers are at last coming properly to 

 appreciate its unlimited utility in 

 the garden and in the home, not 

 to speak of it as one of the most 

 beautiful lexhibition flowers that 

 one can grow and show. Whatever 

 the cause, the result is a matter 

 for gratification, and the greater 



COOPER'S 



STOUT. 



Full-bodied and Nourishingr, is 

 taking the place of Imported Stout 



Reeommended by Doctors. 



the vogue that is attained by 

 Sweet I'cas, the better it will cer- 

 tainly be for our gardens. 



Sweet Peas dilTer from all other 

 llowcrs in several material points, 

 hut in none more than in the 

 eQect of evolution. With the de- 

 \elopment of most (lowers on the 

 lines laid down by the florists we 

 have seen the loss of some feature 

 that had previously been regarded 

 as essential. For example, many 

 of our modern Roses, superb in 

 form, glorious in colour, magnifi- 

 cent in size, wonderful in sub- 

 stance, lack perfume. It has been 

 bred out of them, and while the 

 man who fights in the exhibition 

 arena does not deplore this one 

 iota, the cultivator who grows 

 Roses for his garden and his home 

 considers it a matter" for keen re- 

 gret. Something in the same 

 direction applies to the modern 

 Carnation, but no such charge can 

 be maintained against the Sweet 

 Pea. The blooms have increased 

 in size, substance, and abundance, 

 and they remain Sweet Peas still 

 — fragrant, floriferous, elegant. — 



Saintpaulia lonantha. 



Write to 



Thos. COOPER & SONS 

 Upper Kensington. 



This i^retty compact little plant, 

 often called the African violet, is a 

 charming subject for the warm 

 greenhouse*. Its bright blue flow- 

 ers show up admirably when 

 staged with the pink Gloire de Lor- 

 raine Begonia, or one of the white 

 \-arieties as Turnford Hall. It 

 shows to still better advantage 

 when grown in small baskets sus- 

 pended from the roof, alternately 

 with the , above Begonias grown 

 as hanging plants. Propagation can 

 be effected in three ways, namely, 

 from seed, from leaves, and by 

 division. If from seed, which is 

 the longest process, treat in the 

 same \yay as tuberous Begonias. 

 If from leaves, select good stout 

 leaves, cut the midrib in three or 

 four places, get' a seed pan, well 

 drain it, fill with one part leaf 

 mould and one part coa'rse silver 

 sand well mixed, and peg down 

 leaves on this, giving a good 

 watering with a fine rose. Then 

 plunge in brisk bottom heat and 

 cover with a bell glass ; wipe the 

 glass every day, taking care not 

 to allow any moisture to Test on 

 the leaves or the result will be 

 damping off, and in the course of 

 a few- weeks little plants wiU ap- 

 pear. Prick these off into small 

 thumb pots, and when the pots are 

 full of 'roots shift the plants into 

 their flowering pots or baskets. 



The surest method of propagation 

 is hy division of the roots. Select 

 old plants witli a good many 

 crowns, knoik them out of their 

 pots, cut each crown with a piece 

 of root attached, and put up into 

 6in. pots, which is a suitable size 

 to flower them in. If grown in 

 baskets they must be well lined 

 with sphagnum moss. Pot mod- 

 erately firm, but not too hard. 

 The compost best suited for this 

 plant is two parts good fibrous 

 loam, broken with the hand to 

 about the size of walnuts, two 

 parts flaky leaf mould, half a part 

 chopped sphagnum moss, with a 

 good dash of coarse silver sand. 

 This should be well mixed. They 

 enjoy a warm, moi.st atmosphere 

 at all times, plenty of shade in 

 summer, and full exposure to light 

 in winter. Water in a medium 

 way during growing season, keep- 

 ing rather dry during winter. — 

 " The Gardening World." 



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