Description 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
February, 1916. 
GIANT WHITE SWERT PEA, 
af Fiewerse 
SWEET PEAS. 
In this number appears illustrations of 
a number of the leading varieties of 
Sweet Pea, a flower much prized by 
florists for its various and delicate hues. 
It belongsto the important order of Legu- 
minosee, so called because nearly. all bear 
pods or legumes. The order comprises 
some 7,000 species, of which Australia 
possesses nearly 1,000; it is; in fact, one 
of our largest natural order. Of the 
Acacias alone Bentham describes 193 
species. The flowers figured belong to 
to the Papilionaceous section, so named 
from a fancied resemblance ofa butterfly, 
In this section the pollen is shed and 
stored in the end of the keel, and if a 
sufficiently heavy insect or bird alights 
-on a part of the flower suitably arranged 
for it the stamens push out the pollen 
with a jerk upon the insect or bird, to be 
carried to another flower for fertilizing 
purposes. Although the arrangements 
seem so well adopted for insect fertiliza- 
tion it is found that. this does not com: 
monly occur; perhaps the contrivance 
was more serviceable in past ages than 
now. From observations made upon the 
well known climber Kennedya nigricans, 
the writer finds that here the fertiliza- 
tion is done by birds. When the pollen 
is ready the dark inconspicuous flower 
suddenly opens and discloses two notice- 
able yellow streaks.. If now. pressure, is 
applied in the proper place the pollen is 
jerked, out some inches. The N.Z. 
Clianthus is also bird fertilized. 
The pod-bearers are as useful as they. 
are numerous. They serve for food (peas, 
beans, &c.), for fodder (lucern), for 
medicine (senn). They furnish gum 
(acacia), dyes  (log-wood), sweets 
(liquorice), resin (dragon’s blood), and 
poisons (laburnum), They are also of 
“ BLANCHE BURPER.’ 
ts 
¥ v 
service to the farmer in another directio® 
for upon the roots of clover, &c., are 
found nodules, sometimes .as, large as # 
pea, which contain innumerable minute 
organisers called ‘ nitrogen-producing 
bacilli”? It is the action of these that 
brings. about the improvement of land 
after a crop of peas. Now in England it 
is known that nitrogen must be added 19 
the soil, but it is found not necessary, 12 
the northern areas of this State. Why ! 
Because these bacilli only work in the 
brief period of warm weather in England, 
but. all the year round here. This is ® 
general statement. for the writer. finds 
that in the Hills nitrogen is still needed. 
either in the form of nitrate of potash oF 
sulphate of ammonia. Presumably th® 
cold checks the work of the bacilli, 
although not so much as in England. 
— Send along your. Views. —. 
One object of this magazine is not 
only to communicate and to exchange. 
information, but to incite our readers +0 
observe for themselves, Surely out of 
the 126 species of the Pea-tribe found 1? 
this State there must be many whose 
