354 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
May 25, 1907. 
Sweet Peas. 
WORK FOR MAY. 
In May the enthusiasm of Sweet Pea 
lovers will run very high, for during this 
month a great change will take place in 
the plants. Those that after fourteen 
weeks’ growth commence the month with 
a height of only six inches will end it 
with a stature three or four times as great, 
and the plants generally will show great 
improvement. 
In a few cases the Sweet Peas will be in 
bloom by the end of May. Where they 
are not, the enthusiast may have a fore¬ 
taste of the joys to come by visiting the 
Temple Show, which will be held during 
the last week of this month, and at which 
several of the leading specialists will pro¬ 
bably Exhibit. 
This season promises to be more in¬ 
teresting than any of its predecessors, 
chiefly because of the record number of 
novelties that have been distributed. 
Already we are able to obtain some idea 
as to the growth of the new varieties. The 
Countess Spencer group are all remark¬ 
ably strong, but Frank Dolby and A. J. 
Cook do not seem to be quite so satisfac¬ 
tory. Time, however, will probably remedy 
this defect. Horace Wright — a variety of 
which much is expected — appears to be an¬ 
other somewhat dwarf-growing variety. It is 
interesting to note that several of the recent 
Eckford novelties have had this charac¬ 
teristic, Black Michael, Henry Eckford, 
and Queen Alexandra being cases in point. 
The two latter varieties probably inherit 
it from Coccinea, through Scarlet Gem. 
Mrs. R. F. Felton is a variety that will 
be closely watched this year, for while, in 
some quarters, it is looked upon as being 
the finest cream Sweet Pea, in others it is 
considered to be identical with Mrs. Col¬ 
lier, the cream form of Dorothy Eckford 
or Miss Willmott. 
Another very important question for 
solution this year is that of the relative 
merits of the various deep pink selections 
from Countess Spencer that are now on 
the market. These number at least eight, 
and are from various sources, and go 
under various names. It is doubtful 
whether any authority would yet like to say 
definitely which of them is the best, or 
which, if any, of them are identical ; there 
is a possibility that one or more of them 
may prove unfixed. If they come true, 
Countess Spencer will probably lose the 
position of the head of the pink section. 
The two finest varieties of this colour that 
have yet been shown are Audrey Crier and 
May Malcolm, but although these are bv 
this time well known, they are not yet in 
commerce. They are both of the waved 
form, and several experts declare them to 
be identical. 
As early as possible in May any plant¬ 
ing out that may have been left over from 
April should be completed. During this 
month, also, it will be necessary to com¬ 
plete the staking, and when the young 
plants start into rapid growth, care should 
be taken that they grow up the sticks pro¬ 
perly. It may be helpful at times to tie 
them in their proper positions. In the 
case of clumps all the shoots should be 
trained to climb up the outside, otherwise 
they are liable to form a tangled mass in 
the centre, and thus to spoil their beauties. 
On light soils it is wise to give a mulch 
of manure on both sides of the rows. Be¬ 
sides feeding the plants, this tends to keep 
the ground moist by checking evaporation. 
This latter end is served also by the prac¬ 
tice adopted by some growers of spreading 
lawn mowings over the ground. 
On heavy soils, too, a mulch is bene¬ 
ficial, although not so important as on 
light ones, for on the former the same end 
may be served by a constant use of the 
Dutch hoe. The use of this tool is by no 
means properly appreciated by amateurs, 
as the surface of the ground should always 
be broken up whenever it shows a tendency 
to become caked. When using the hoe, 
be careful that the stems of the Sweet Peas 
are not cut through. This caution may 
not seem to be required, but it is wonder¬ 
ful how easily an accident may happen. 
All the time that the Sweet Peas are in 
their small stages a most careful watch 
should be kept for slugs and snails, for if 
early steps are not taken, these creatures 
do a great deal of damage in a very short 
time. 
If the present weather continue there will 
be little need of artificial watering, but in 
June drier weather may prevail, and the 
application of water may do good, but do 
not be in too great a hurry to commence. 
When the plants come into flower feeding 
may be started, but in all cases guard 
against using the manure too strong. A 
glance at the “ Sweet Pea Annual ” shows 
that the liquid from animal droppings and 
soot water are favourites with many 
growers. I hope to touch more On the 
subject of watering and feeding next 
month. By the time those remarks appear 
most readers will have Sweet Peas in 
bloom. May their best hopes be realised. 
G. F. Drayson. 
-- 
Reading and District Gardeners’ MHtual Im¬ 
provement Association. 
There was a very large attendance of 
members at the last meeting of this asso¬ 
ciation, which was held in the Abbey Hall, 
and presided over by Mr. W. Turnham. 
The committee had arranged some very 
interesting competitions, and these proved 
a great success. The first held was the 
making of a gentleman’s buttonhole and 
lady’s spray, for members, excepting head 
gardeners and foremen. For this class 
there were eight competitors. For the 
buttonhole Violets were used, and for the 
spray buds of William Allen Richardson 
Rose. The judges (Messrs. Bailey, Foster, 
Mabbot and Winsor) awarded the prizes 
as follows:—First prize, Royal Horticul¬ 
tural Society’s A. S. silver medal, Mr. W. 
H. Watson, The Gardens, Holme Park, 
Sonning; second prize, 10s. 6d., Mr. J. 
Busby, The Gardens, Bear Wood; third 
prize, 7s. 6d., Mr. A. H. Hoskins, The 
Gardens, Park Place, Henley-on-Thames; 
fourth prize, 5s., Mr. A. Bone, The Gar¬ 
dens, Sidmouth Grange arley. 
The second competiti was open to all. 
and was for five small ses arranged for 
effect and suitable f> . breakfast table. 
Twenty-three entries were received for this. 
The flowers used were Narcissi. This 
produced a keen competition, and the 
judges had no easy task to allocate the 
prizes, which were awarded as follows 
First prize, silver medal, Mr. W. H. Wat¬ 
son; second prize, 10s. 6d., Mr. C. Dealey, 
Reading; third prize, 7s. 6d., Mr. T. Judd, 
The Gardens, Hatchgate, Reading; 
fourth prize, 5s., Mr. F. Tugwood, The 
Gardens, Shooter’s Hill, Pangbourne; 
fifth prize, 3s. 6d., Mr. F. Johnson, The 
Gardens, Maiden Erleigh; sixth prize, 
2s. 6d., Mr. H. C. Loader, The Gardens. 
Holme Grange, Wokingham. The vases 
(one hundred and fifteen) were kindly lent 
by Messrs. Watson and Son, Minster 
Street. 
A magnificent display of cut flowers was 
made by the members, and the ne!xt morn¬ 
ing these were conveyed to the Royal 
Berkshire Hospital. In addition a collec¬ 
tion was taken at the meeting in aid of 
the funds of the hospital, and a sum of 
about sixty shillings was realised. 
Mr. C. Foster, of the University Col¬ 
lege Gardens, exhibited a box of magni¬ 
ficent fruits of Royal Sovereign Straw¬ 
berries, large in size and of excellent 
colour. This exhibit attracted much at¬ 
tention. 
-- 
Why Are Some Flowers Altogether Barren? 
At the outset, a distinction must be 
made between flowers which are sterile 
when insects are excluded, and those 
which are incapable of fertilisation with 
their own pollen, or self-sterile, as Dar¬ 
win terms them. In the former case 
sterility is merely due to the fact that the 
pollen is prevented from reaching' the 
stigma, or that the pollen and the stigma 
mature at different times. In the latter 
class there are a number of plants that 
are sterile even w'here insects are given 
even' opportunity of fertilising them 
This is the case of five species of Passi- 
flora, several species of Verbascum, and 
a large number of Brazilian Orchids. In 
the last instance it was found that the pol¬ 
len was often actually poisonous to- the 
plant. But the examination is not yet 
complete, as the fact of self-sterility can¬ 
not be proved except by protecting the 
plant from insects, and then fertilising it 
by pollen of other plants and by its own 
pollen. It is, however, ascertained that 
the phenomenon is found at random 
throughout the whole vegetable kingdom. 
The causes of it are due to environment. 
Plants self-sterile in Brazil become fertile 
in England; plants sterile in spring be¬ 
come fertile later in the season. Darwin 
concluded from this that some degree of 
differentiation in the productive system is 
necessary for the full fertility of plants. 
Self-sterility must be regarded, then, as 
an incidental result, dependent on the con¬ 
ditions to which plants have been sub¬ 
jected, such as excess of heat, manure, 
moisture, and the like. 
