1872 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
341 
Sweet Peas—Improved Varieties. 
Iu our early gardening days we had Sweet 
Peas, and that was the end of it. There was 
then no thought of named varieties. The ori- 
trellis, and one to which the pea-vines take 
very readily. To have Sweet Peas continue 
long in flower, the blossoms should be picked, 
and no seed allowed to form. We have been 
much troubled by some insect that eats por- 
tennuated look, we cut tlrem back, when they 
grew very bushy and bloomed profusely. The 
objection to their use as an edging is their hight, 
tjiey being much better adapted to the second 
line of a border than for the front. At any rate, 
YAIUETIES OF THE SWEET PEA. TALL BROWALLIA.— (Browallia tlata.) 
ginal Sweet Pea, Lathyrus odoratus, a native of 
Southern Europe, is one of the oldest of garden 
plants, and has justly been a favorite on ac¬ 
count of its agreeable fragrance. Of late years 
our catalogues have contained named varieties, 
which, thanks to the efforts of English ama¬ 
teurs, are very fine and distinct. This spring 
we received from Messrs. B. K. Bliss & Sons an 
assortment of seeds of the newer varieties, the 
results from which have afforded us much plea¬ 
sure. There was a pure white; a part white 
and part violet; a striped scarlet; striped pur¬ 
ple ; an Invincible Scarlet, a very rich color ; a 
variety called black, which is only a very deep 
purple. In the engraving there is an attempt 
to represent these varieties as Avell as can be 
done in black and white. Sweet PeaS, like other 
peas, do all the better if sown early and the 
seed covered rather deep. We were at first 
puzzled to fix a trellis for a row over twenty 
feet in length, but hit upon the following 
plan, which is very satisfactory: Strong stakes 
were driven down, and common shingle laths 
nailed to them. One lath was placed near the 
ground, and another at the hight of about three 
feet. Pea-brush Avas then stuck close against 
the laths, and bound to the upper one by wind¬ 
ing a twine over and over so as to catch the 
brush in the turns. After the twine Avas made 
fast, the tops of the brush Avere c^it off even 
with the upper lath. This makes a A'cry neat 
tions of the flowers and destroys their beauty, 
but have not yet been able to discover to what 
insect we are indebted for this little annoyance. 
---—a e — I »- 
The Tall Browallia ( BrowalUa elata). 
Several times Ave have had occasion to notice 
the fact that Avell-known and old-fashioned 
plants Avould be almost lost to cultivation, and 
then again Avould spring up as novelties. The 
Tall BroAvallia is an illustration of this. Those 
Avlio recollect the floAver-gardens of a couple of 
generations ago know that this Browallia Avas 
at one time a favorite, but of late years nothing 
has been seen of it. Two years ago several 
specimens Avere brought us to name ; last year 
still more came in; and this spring some of 
our florists introduced it among the novelties. 
So the old Browallia, Avhich has been known 
for over a century, turns up as good as new, 
and a great deal better than many really neAV 
flowers. It is a vigorous-groAving annual of a 
foot and a half in hight, with an abundance of 
dark green foliage, and small floAvers of an in¬ 
tense blue, which is rather lighter at the throat 
of the flower. Blue flowers are so rare that w T e 
are glad to see this old plant brought into favor 
again. We used as an edging to a bed a lot of 
plants that had been started under glass and 
> were rather drawn. Dissatisfied with their at- 
the plant, on account of its lively blue, is a 
pleasing one. The engraving sIioavs a small 
stem of the natural size. There is a white 
variety which we have not seen. The plant is a 
native of Peru, and the genus received its name 
from Linnaeus, in honor of a bishop named 
Browallius. In the greenhouse it is especially 
valuable, as it remains in flower a long time, 
and becomes almost a perennial. It belongs to 
the large Fig-Avort Family ( Scrophulariacece ). 
The very small seeds may be sown in the open 
border, or under tdass if plants arc Avanted 
early, taking care not to cover too deeply. 
The Market-Gardens near London. 
EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE, BY PETER HENDERSON. 
For years I have been anxious to see and 
compare the market-gardens of London Avith 
those of MeAV York, and have this week been 
able to do so. 
The extent and thorough culture of these 
gardens is something wonderful. One of the 
best avc saw was in the vicinity of Tottingham, 
owned by a Mr. Hollington. It comprised 
about a hundred acres, every foot of which was 
planted in close crop, and, as far as could be 
seen, it would have been difficult to have 
picked up a bushel of weeds on the whole of 
the hundred acres. Mr. Hollington’s success in 
