nTTT~H EHRYA DREER -PHI LADELPH IA PA 



RELIABLE-FLOWER SEEDS 



109 



DREER'S 



SELECT STANDARD 



SWEET PEAS. 



There are now in commerce, including the New Orchid-flowered 

 "type, about 300 varieties of Sweet Peas, with new sorts being 

 added every year. Many of this vast number are either small-flower- 

 ing, of weakly growth or lacking in some characteristic which a 

 first-class variety should have. Every year our list is carefully 

 revised, with a view to keeping it strictly up-to-date; and while it 

 seems hard to dispense with some of the once popular 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 color. 



Every variety we offer is entitled to a place in the front rank of 

 Sweet Peas ; but as most amateurs only wish a limited number of 

 sorts, we have made up a collection comprising 21 of the very 

 finest and most distinct standard sorts, which we offer below as 

 our "Incomparable" collection. 



The Orchid-flowered type, which was introduced a year or two 

 ago, is rapidly coming to the front, and we offer on page 56 a full 

 list of these new aspirants for honors among lovers of Sweet Peas. 



HOW TO GROW SWEET PEAS. 



The soil for Sweet Peas should be rich and deep. A good 

 rich loam, with plenty of well-rotted manure in it, is the ideal 

 soil 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 

 be in a position fully exposed to the sunlight and air on both 

 sides 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 latitude of Philadelphia. It is best to make a trench or fnrrow about 

 six inches deep, in the bottom of which sow the seed thickly. Cover the seed with about an inch of soil, pressing it town firmly. 

 As soon as they are above ground, thin out to two inches apart; if they are closer than this they do not usually attain their full de- 

 velopment. As soon as the plants are about a foot high, the balance of the soil may be filled in the trench. They should be 

 staked up either with branches of brush or stout stakes on which wire netting has been fastened. These should be at least four 

 feet high, and five feet would be better. It is just as well to do the staking at the time of sowing, or it may be done before filling 

 in the tre.nch. 



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 it 

 is convenient to have them, in which case the soil, to the extent of a foot wide and deep, should be removed, and replaced with 

 new soil from another part of the garden. 



White-seeded varieties should not be sown until the ground is comparatively 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 "INCOMPARABLE" COLLECTION OF SWEET PEAS. 



This collection is made up of the very choicest standard sorts — varieties that have the endorsement of the leading American and 

 European specialists — and it would be impossible to select another similar collection out of the vast number of standard sorts now in 

 commerce that would combine in the same degree all the qualities which go to make up first-class varieties. 



Orchid-flowered Sweet Pea. 



4063 

 4073 

 4084 

 4088 

 4090 

 4091 

 4094 

 4111 



4127 



4133 



Aurora. Orange-rose, striped on a white ground. 

 Blanche Ferry. The popular pink and white. 

 Coccinea. Rich brilliant cerise; a distinct new shade. 

 Countess of Lathom. Creamy pink; very rich. 

 Dainty. White, daintily edged with pink. 

 Dorothy Eckford. Magnificent pure white. 

 Duke of Westminster. Clear purple, tinted violet. 

 Flora Norton. The clearest and most pronounced bright 

 blue. 



Henry Eckford. Clear orange-yellow, a new shade 

 that is very striking. 15 cts. per oz.,; 50 cts. per \ lb. 

 Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon. The finest primrose-yel- 

 low. 



4152 

 4159 

 4165 

 4173 

 4179 

 4183 

 4192 

 4201 

 4203 

 4212 



4235 



King Edward VII. The finest crimson scarlet. 

 Lady (irisel Hamilton. A grand pale lavender. 

 Lovely. Soft shell-pink; a lovely shade. 

 Miss Willmott. Brilliant orange-pink; very large. 

 Mrs. Walter Wright. An exquisite shade of mauve. 

 Navy Blue. Deep indigo-blue of medium size. 

 Othello. Very dark maroon, shaded almost black. 

 Prima Donna. A magnificent pure pink. 

 Prince of Wales. The finest bright rose. 

 Queen Alexandra. Brilliant geranium-red, the near- 

 est approach to a pure scarlet yet introduced. 15 cts. per 

 oz. ; 50 cts. per } lb. 

 Stella Morse. Primrose tinged blush. 



Price : Any of the above, except where noted, 5 cts. per pkt. ; 10 cts. per oz. ; 25 cts. per £ lb. ; 75 cts. per lb. 

 4249 Collection of a packet each of the 21 "Incomparable" varieties, 75 cts. 

 4251 Collection of one ounce each of the 21 "Incomparable" varieties, §1.50. 



General List of Sweet Peas on page no. Orchid-flowered sorts on page 56. 



