M 



FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH. 



87 



SWEET PEAS 



(Lathyrus odoratus) No garden is too small for a row of Sweet Peas and no estate, however extensive or magnificent, should 

 fail to include many varieties of this most popular tlower. Its long blooniini,' season usually extends from early summer until 

 very hot dry weatlier and no other climber 

 equals it for cutting, either for use in bou- 

 quets or for table decoration. 



Hundi-eds of varieties have been offered 

 for sale by seedsmen but owing to recent 

 marked improvements many sorts are de- 

 cidedly inferior and have been di'opped from 

 our Ust. 



In describing varieties, by "standard" is 

 meant the wide petal at the top of the flower; 

 the "wings" are the two petals below. 



Extra Early Blanche Ferry and Earliest 

 AMiite, being the earliest known varieties 

 are excellent for groiving indoors. 



For Outdoor Planting there are two 

 general classes. The more extensive is the 

 Qrandiflora or large flowering division. This 

 class, owing to its general vigor of growth, 

 its freedom of blooming and extremely wide 

 range of colors, is best suited for most 

 conditions of growth and location. 



The Spencers are of exceptionally large 

 size, the standard and wings waved or frilled 

 and tlie general eft'ect remarkably graceful 

 and attractive. A characteristic of the best 

 Spencers is an "open keel." The petal or 

 envelope enclosing the pistil, stamens and 

 anthers is called the keel. In a typical 

 Spencer flower grown under favorable condi- 

 tions the anthers and stigma are not clamped 

 together and the envelope of the keel is large 

 and baggy and open at the top. The plants 

 of Spencer varieties are usually in bloom 

 much longer than other sweet peas, as most 

 of tlie blossoms fall off after maturity with- 

 out settmg pods. The Spencers are decidedly 

 shy seeders, lience the price will doubtless 

 always be higher than ifor the older types. 



In addition to these two classes which 

 are generally recognized, there is also a third 

 subdivision or class, called the Unwin type, 

 in which the blossoms are waved lilce the 

 Spencers but are not so large, although dis- 

 tinctly larger than those of the Urandiflora 

 type. The Unwins are frequently of heavier 

 texture than the Spencers and are some- 

 times more dependable for growing under 

 adverse conditions. They seed more freely, 

 hence are usually cheaper in price than the 

 Spencers, but are dearer than the Grandi- 

 floras. The larger Unw'in varieties which 

 we list will be found in the Spencer division. 



Culture. Early in spring make a trench 

 three to four inches deep in rich, mellow soil, 

 so arranged that no water can stand in it and 

 plant tlfe seed in the bottom, covering at 

 first only one inch deep. Sweet Peas, particu- 

 larly the white seeded sorts, are often a little 

 difficult to start. If the soil is too dry they 

 wiU remain a long time witliout germinating; 

 if it is too wet and cold tliey will not sprout 

 at all. In soils at all heavy, or composed 

 largely of clay, put about one inch of sand 

 in the bottom of the trench and sow the seed 

 on this, covering vc\t\\ more sand. Cover the 

 row with a board to shed the rain and protect 

 the soil from tlie hot sun but remove this as 

 soon as tlie young plants appear. 



When the plants are two inches high, 

 cultivate and as they grow gradually fill up 

 the trench. When the plants are about five 

 inches high it is desirable to furnish some 

 support for the vines to run upon, preferably 

 a wire netting firmly supported by stakes to 

 prevent sagging, but strings or brush are 

 often used with satisfactory results. 



The rootsshould not be allowed to become 

 t^o dry. Water applied thoroughly once or 

 twice a week preferably early in the morning 

 or in the evening, is usually better than light 

 sprinlding more frequently. 



For the aphis or plant louse, spraying 

 with solutions of some tobacco extract or 

 whale-oil soap is usually effective; and for 

 the Red Spider, which also causes trouble at 

 times, spraying with pure water is usually 

 sufficient A frequent change of location has 

 also been found important. 



A better growth of vine and earlier bloom- 

 ing often results from planting seed late in 

 tlie faU instead of early in the spring. 



The blooms should be picked before they 

 form pods or the plants will soon stop 

 flowering 



Sweet Peas, White Spenceb 



