l'\'brutiry  4,  13(.4. 
JOURNAfj  CF  HOnnCULrUHE  AND  cor  I  AIK  GARDENEli. 
Sweet  Peas. 
The  SiioAvdrop.s  are  pushing  their  leaves  throiigli  the  soil,  the 
buds  of  many  trees  are  already  .swelling,  the  days  are  per¬ 
ceptibly  lengthening,  the  land  which  was  tlirown  np  roughly  in 
the  autumn  shows  a  crumbling  surface,  and  ho.sts  of  other  little 
matters  which  the  observer  may  read  from  “  Nature’s  open 
book,”  i3roclaini  the  fact  that  vegetation  in  the  open  air  is 
beginning  the  work  of  another  year.  All  garden  lovers  will  be 
looking  forward  with  eager  anticipation  to  the  succession  of 
good  things  a  garden  should  supply  throughout  the  year,  and 
no  garden  can  be  considered  complete  without  Sweet  Peas  in 
abundance.  From  June  till  November  abundance  of  their 
flowers  may  be  obtained  from  the  open  air  where  there  is 
suflicient  space  to  make  several  .sowings. 
Their  popularity  for  growing  in  pots  to  provide  flowers  during 
dis.solved  bone  powder  with  the  soil  as  it  is  returned  to  the 
trench. 
If  the  -soil  is  light,  tread  firmly  ;  if  heavy,  it  will  usually 
get  close  enough  in  texture  without  treading.  Two  inches  i.s 
rpiite  deep  enough  to  sow  the  .seeds  in  .spring.  I  should  prefer 
still  more  shallow  .sowing  were  it  not  for  the  birds,  which  do 
le.ss  damage  in  pulling  up  the  seedlings  when  they  a"0  buried 
at  a  moderate  depth. 
Early  in  February  is  an  excellent  time  to  make  the  fir.st 
sowing,  and  as  .soon  as  the  plants  come  through  the  soil,  much 
can  be  done  to  ha.sten  them  by  frequent  loosening  of  the  surface 
with  a  hoe.  Pinching  out  the  tops  of  the  plants  when  they 
reach  a  height  of  3ft  or  4ft  will  also  help  to  forward  the  flowers, 
as  well  as  to  give  them  greater  substance.  The  middle  of  March 
is  a  suitable  time  to  make  the  main  .sowing,  and  a  month  later 
for  the  production  of  flowers  till  the  end  of  the  season.  In  hot 
seasons  seed  sown  as  late  as  the  end  of  May  will  produce  plants 
which  flower  well  from  mid-September  till  the  end  of  October; 
Primulas  at  Warfield  Hall,  Bracknell. 
April  and  iMay,  is  increasing  rapidly,  and  when  well  grown  they 
certainly  do  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  any  of  the  floral 
inmates  of  gla.ss  structures  at  that  season.  Autumn  or  early 
January  sowing  is,  of  course,  necessaiy  to  produce  early  flowers 
under  gla.ss.  My  cultural  remarks  must  be  confined  to  the 
production  of  flowers  in  the  open  air. 
Early  flowers  are  worth  taking  a  little  extra  trouble  to 
secure,  and  if  possible  a  somewhat  sheltered  position  should  be 
selected  for  them.  Warm  south  borders  are  often  so  much 
needed  for  early  vegetables  that  the  Sweet  Peas  are  crowded 
out  into  more  open  quarters,  but  a  little  shelter  from  the  north 
and  ea.st  is  .so  great  an  advantage  that  an  effort  should  be 
made  to  secure  it.  Sometimes  a  position  may  be  found  against 
a  fence,  rough  wall,  or  building,  and  I  have  seen  excellent  results 
obtained  by  thatching  a  few  hurdles  with  straw,  arranging  them 
in  the  form  of  a  fence,  and  sowing  the  Peas  on  the  sunny  side. 
No  matter  where  the  position  is,  the  soil  before  sowing  should 
1)0  deeply  worked.  I  favour  the  plan  of  taking  out  trenches 
18in  in  depth,  breaking  up  the  subsoil,  putting  a  good  layer 
of  well  decayed  manure  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  and  mixing 
but  in  wet  seasons  late  sowing  often  proves  a  failure.  I  have 
also  generally  found  that  with  good  culture  the  April  -sown 
plants  will,  even  in  dry  sea.sons,  flower  right  on  to  October. 
Deejj  culture,  that  is  the  point,  and  that  is  why  I  advocate 
trenching  the  land  or  taking  out  deep  trenches  just  before  sow¬ 
ing.  When  hot  weather  sets  in,  giving  a  heavy  mulching  of 
manure  is  a  splendid  method  of  conserving  moisture,  as  well  as  of 
feeding  the  plants,  especially  when  liquid  manure  cannot  be 
applied.  Sulphate  of  ammonia  or  soot  are  excellent  manures 
to  apply  in  a  liquid  state  to  heighten  the  colour  of  the  flowers. 
Sweet  Pea  enthusiasts  will  doubtless  be  constantly  .scanning 
the  catalogues  on  the  look-out  for  this  season’s  novelties,  and 
I  think  they  will  find  .some  surpri.ses  in  the  new  xVmerican 
varieties.  The  following  are  well-tried  varieties  which  will,  I 
am  sure,  give  general  satisfaction  : — Early  :  Early  Blanche  Ferry, 
Mont  Blanc,  Emily  Henderson  ;  for  general  purposes.  Countess 
of  Cadogan,  Countess  of  Shi-ewsbury,  Dorothy  Tennant,  Duchess 
of  Sutherland,  Gorgeous,  Imperial  Blue,  iMrs.  J.  Chamberlain, 
Primrose,  Sadie  Burpee,  Salopian,  Triumph,  Prince  of  Wales, 
Orange  Prince,  Ijady  G.  Hamilton.-  H.  D. 
