July 27, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
763 
“ Gardening is the prrest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man "—Bacon. 
©aritenntj 
Edited by J. FRASER, F.L.S., F.R.H.o. 
SATURDAY, JULY 27th, 1901. 
The Editorial and Publishing Offices are 
now at 4, Dorset Buildings, Salisbury 
Square, Fleet St., London, E.C., where 
all communications and remittances are 
to be addressed to the Proprietors. 
NEXT WEEK’S ENGAGEMENTS. 
Tuesday, July 30th.—Buckingham Exhibition; Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society's Committees. 
Wednesday, July 31st.—Wilts Exhibition, 
Thursday, August 1st.—Isle of Wight Horticultural Associa¬ 
tion Exhibition. 
Friday, August 2nd—Devon and Exeter Horticultural Society 
Summer Flower Show. 
Saturday, August 3rd.—Auldearn Horticultural Society. 
SWEET PEAS AT FEERING, KELVEDON. 
ULY is the month for Sweet Peas in 
the open air in the southern counties 
of England, though they may com¬ 
mence flowering in June during early 
seasons. July has been a very trying 
month for them, however, in the south, and- 
their season, to all appearance, is destined 
to be short, except in those cases where the 
grower has taken the trouble to mulch and 
water or otherwise care for them, including 
the removal of the seed pods, or the flowers, 
as fast as they fade. 
On the 18th inst., Messrs. Hurst & Son, 
152, Houndsditch, London, invited a large 
party to inspect their trials of Sweet Peas, 
at their seed farm, Feering, Kelvedon, 
Essex. Mr. N. N. Sherwood, the head of 
the firm, met the party at Liverpool Street 
and, having engaged a special train, took 
the party to their destination in little over 
an hour. At Prested Hall an excellent 
luncheon awaited them, and sixty-two sat 
down to table. This was a necessary 
preparation, for the work of inspecting 
some 290 trials of different varieties and 
stocks of Sweet Peas in the open field 
during the hottest day, up to that time, for 
this year, for the temperature stood at 88° 
in the shade and 130° in the sun. Alter 
examining the trials and having refresh¬ 
ments, the party was conveyed back to 
London by Mr. Sherwood’s special train, 
arriving promptly at 7 p.m. 
Light coloured Selfs and Fancies.— In any 
classification of Sweet Peas, the greatest 
number of popular varieties will occur 
among those that are more or less decidedly 
of one uniform or self colour. In the short 
time at command we endeavoured to select 
a few of the best representatives of the 
most decided and attractive colours. Blanche 
Burpee and Sadie Burpee still take the 
highest position amongst the hooded white 
varieties, and, indeed, it would be difficult to 
say which is really the best. Amongst 
whites with an erect standard Emily Hen¬ 
derson has still to be beaten. Mrs. Sankey 
in its best form is white, but is often tinted 
with a delicate suffusion of pink on the stand¬ 
ard. Queen of England is a free-flowering 
white variety of many years standing, but 
the blooms are small. Ascending the scale 
of colour, we noted Modesty as deserving 
of mention for the subtle delicacy of its 
blush colouring. 
Amongst the so-called yellow Sweet 
Peas, Primrose is one of the most decided, 
and, though moderate in size of bloom, is 
very floriferous. Mrs. Eckford has much 
larger flowers with an erect standard, and 
is really very choice. Quite different is 
Queen Victoria, having a delicate apricot 
tint on the standard, and being a vigorous 
grower is well worthy of inclusion amongst 
a select collection. Stella Morse is a fancy 
variety with yellow buds changing to a 
delicate buff-apricot as they expand. The 
dark lemon buds of Lemon Queen change 
to white tinted with lemon when fully 
developed. Another fancy claiming atten¬ 
tion is Alice Eckford, having a salmon-pink 
standard fading to a small reddish pink 
zone or blotch on the centre. The blush 
wings fade to white. It is pretty, but the 
blossoms are small. A charming variety is 
Venus, being pink tinted with a buff shade, 
and apricot at the base. 
Another step higher in the intensification 
of colouring brings us to Prima Donna, of 
a soft uniform pink, with a faint tint of 
apricot in the standard when half open. 
The flowers are of handsome size. Prin¬ 
cess Beatrice is soft pink fading to a paler 
hue. Lavender shades include some of the 
most charming and popular of the lighter 
coloured seifs; and amongst these New 
Countess and Lady Grisel Hamilton take 
the leading position, the latter being slightly 
the paler. Lady Nina Balfour has even 
less colour, its hue in certain soils and 
seasons being very subtle indeed. All 
of these lavender varieties have a hooded 
standard. 
Dark coloured Selfs. —Her Majesty has 
large flowers of a rich rose, which some 
would describe as carmine, but we should 
prefer to regard it as full rose, and one of 
the handsomest and most effective grown. 
There is a question as to whether this or 
Prince of Wales is the better, but the 
latter has paler wings and a darker stan¬ 
dard. In the same category comes Mrs. 
Dugdale, with large flowers and an erect 
standard. 
When we come to the crimson and car¬ 
mine varieties we find a diversity of opinion 
as to their respective merits and as to the 
proper names for the colours themselves. 
Invincible Carmine and Invincible Scarlet, 
though amongst the oldest of the dark 
varieties, still hold their own on account of 
their rich and fast colours, the newer and 
largest flowered representatives being more 
inclined to burn in the sun. The two old 
varieties just named are small in size, but 
their rich colours stand the sun without 
burning as well as any. Nevertheless, we 
think that Salopian, Mars, Brilliant, and 
Firefly are rich glowing crimson flowers of 
the highest order of merit. That named 
Scarlet would come into the same category. 
In any case all of them continue to find 
many admirers; and a little generous treat¬ 
ment often enables them to escape the 
effects of a droughty season. 
Dorothy Tennant is a rich mauve or 
blue-purple flower, nearly uniform in hue 
and hooded. Duke of Westminster comes 
into the same category, but is considerably 
darker in colour. Blue varieties are often 
difficult of definition, for they are generally 
mixed. The best of the dark blues in culti¬ 
vation is no doubt Navy Blue, with purple- 
blue standards and deep blue wings. Some 
growers fancy Countess of Cadogan, a 
much paler flower, and not inaptly de¬ 
scribed as light blue, of a nearly uniform 
hue. 
Great differences of opinion prevail in the 
descriptions attached to Prince Edward of 
York, which, though usually described as a 
self, might well be regarded as one of the 
darkest of bicolors. In any case the stan¬ 
dard is of a much more intense carmine 
than the wings ; and the large and hand¬ 
some flowers have an erect standard. 
Some, whose opinion is worth having, re¬ 
gard the variety, both in colour and form, 
as a paragon of what a Sweet Pea should 
be. Lovely flowers of a more delicate 
shade of colour are Lady Penzance and 
Lady Mary Currie, both being salmon- 
rose, beautifully veined. 
The maroon seifs are often more or less 
decidedly of two colours. The old Boreat- 
ton, from which they have all descended, 
is, perhaps, the most decidedly of a uniform 
metallic maroon we have ; but its flowers 
are small compared with Othello, Stanley, 
and Black Knight, which are the best of 
the modern representatives of this type, 
and leave little to choose between them for 
superiority. All have a purple tint in th 2 
wings. 
Bicolor Sweet Peas. —Absolutely self- 
coloured Sweet Peas are really very few ; 
for a careful examination of any large col¬ 
lection will reveal the fact that the standard 
or upper petal is darker than the wings or 
side petals which enclose the keel or two 
lowermost small petals, which in turn en¬ 
close the stamens. From this we infer that 
the Sweet Pea is essentially a bicolor or 
two-coloured flower. For purposes of 
classification, however, a strain of a dis¬ 
tinctly marked character has been raised 
more or less wholly from the old Painted 
Lady which record says, and which many 
believe, was introduced originally from 
Ceylon. Whether that was the case or not 
we do not intend to discuss at present, but 
proceed to mention a few of the best bi¬ 
colors, most of which are its descendants. 
Painted Lady has a rosy-red standard 
and white wings, and though an old, is a 
lovely and free-flowering variety. Miss 
Blanche Ferry has a carmine-red standard 
and blush or white wings. Earliest of All 
is practically a dwarf Blanche Ferry, being 
only 18 in. high, and is a splendid one for 
small gardens whose owners object to the 
Cupid varieties. It is still flowering freely. 
Duke of York has a bright rose-red stan¬ 
dard and blush wings. On the contrary, 
Triumph is a very pale variety with a pink 
standard, fading to blush in hot dry weather, 
and because less constant is less desirable 
than those just named. On the contrary, 
Little Dorrit is a larger and rather darker 
coloured flower than Painted Lady, and 
might be grown in select collections as the 
best of this type, exclusive of Earliest of 
All, which will tie admired for its earliness 
and dwarf habit. Most of this race, how¬ 
ever, have an inclination to be early. Quite 
of a different hue is Lady Beaconsfield, 
with buff pink standard and creamy wings. 
This hue is more intensified in Bronze 
King, with bronzy-red standard and white 
wings. The flowers are not very large, but 
very freely produced, and frequently there 
are three on a stalk, so that we have no 
hesitation in describing this as the most 
distinct of its type, standing out prominently 
from all others when seen in a collection. 
Salmon and Orange Bicolors are not very 
numerous but very handsome and may have 
been derived from some other parent than 
Painted Lady. Each of the existing 
varieties have their admirers, but two of 
the best are Oriental and Gorgeous. The 
former has an orange standard and salmon 
wings, and some there are who think it less 
liable to burn in bright sunshine. We our¬ 
selves prefer Gorgeous as the flowers are 
somewhat darker and under favourable 
conditions produce an effect that is not 
soon forgotten, as they focus the attention 
of the beholder when looking at a group of 
flowers, and elicit unstinted admiration. 
Flaked Varieties. —We have no decided 
preference for flaked Sweet Peas, though 
they have their admirers. The most de¬ 
cided we noted was America, flaked and 
mottled with crimson-red on the standard 
and wings, and therefore not only per¬ 
missible but desirable in large collections 
for the sake of variety. Equally striking 
in its way is Daybreak, on account of the 
