148 FOURTH NATIONAL FLOWER SHOW 
MULCHING AND WATERING 
After the plants have started well into growth and the sun has warmed up 
the soil, a good mulch of strawy litter and half-decayed leaves will be of the 
greatest benefit to them, both in conserving moisture, by cutting off evapora- 
tion, and in keeping the soil from baking and getting too hot. Be liberal in the 
amount of space you cover on either side of the plants with the mulch, but do 
not put it on too heavy, about three inches is enough. Watering must be 
attended to as regularly as the soil appears to be on the dry side; and when it is 
done be sure to be thorough and give a good soaking. Half measures are worse 
than nothing at all. 
FEEDING 
Assuming that the ground has been well manured, as advised in the prepa- 
ration of the soil, no great amount of feeding otherwise will be necessary, except 
that after the plants have been flowering for a week or two and the stems begin 
to show signs of shortening, a little stimulant, such as a light dose of nitrate of 
soda, or a dusting of dried blood well watered in, will be very beneficial ; and as 
a tonic which will brighten up the colors of the flowers, and generally do good, 
a dusting of soft-coal soot about every ten days over the whole soil is well 
worth while. 
PESTS 
About the worst pests that afflicts the Sweet Pea is the fungoid disease 
called "mildew." Fortunately, this does not come until the season is well 
advanced. Good culture, and spraying with an anti-fungoid spray which has 
copper-sulphate as a base, are the best measures to ward it off. There are other 
diseases of a fungoid nature, such as "streak," but the only known way of 
combating them is to try and prevent them by maintaining the health and vigor 
of the plants unimpaired as long as possible. 
Of insect pests, the only one that calls for special mention is "green fly,'' 
or "aphis." This is easily killed by any good nicotine spray. You must keep 
a good look out for this pest, as, owing to its protective coloring, it is liable to 
escape attention and get in lots of damage before it is discovered. 
PICKING THE FLOWERS 
As one of the chief characteristics of the Sweet Pea is that the more you 
pick the more you have, the sprays should be gathered every day as soon as all 
the flowers are developed, and to do this, use a sharp knife and cut them close 
to the base; plucking the stems out by force is rather unkind treament and 
apt to injure the vines. 
SHADING 
A light covering of cheese-cloth, or some other light material, must be 
put over the salmon and orange shades if you would get these most beautiful 
colors at their best, because a very little sunshine bleaches them out completely. 
