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How to grow t hem fo Perfection

Cufhberfson

V.M.H.

London :

JAMES CLARK& & Co,,

13 * t Fleet Street

Agrlc.DepU"

SWEET PEAS AND ANTIRRHINUMS

Rosabelle

Thos. Stevenson Mew Marquis

Dobbie's Cream Mrs. ft. Hitchcock

LavenderG. Herbert Elfrida Pearson Sunproof Crimson

Jean Ireland

^~^

Royal Purple Constance Hinton Illuminator

TWELVE OF THE BEST MODERN SWEET PEAS.

SWEET PEAS

AND

ANTIRRHINUMS

(SNAPDRAGONS)

WILLIAM CUTHBERTSON, V.M.H.

AUTHOR OF " PANS1ES, VIOLAS AND VIOLETS "

Second Edition

LONDON
JAMES CLARKE & CO., 13 & 14, FLEET ST., E.G.

Main Lib.

AGRIC. DEPT.

INTRODUCTION

WHEN I was endeavouring to make up my mind
whether I should accede to Messrs. Clarke's
request and write this little book, I asked the
advice of several horticultural friends, among
others that of Mr. S. T. Wright, the able and
popular superintendent of the Royal Horticultural
Society's Gardens at Wisley. Mr. Wright advised
me to undertake the task because he believed I
should produce a book which would be practical
— evolved out of my own experiences.

It was that opinion expressed so kindly by
Mr. Wright which decided the question. Many
books devoted to Sweet Pea culture have appeared
during the last ten years, and one naturally
wonders if there is room for another. Messrs.
Clarke think there is, and I hope they will not be
disappointed.

50 7 i 75

Introduction

I have associated with Sweet Peas in the
present volume, Antirrhinums (Snapdragons),
because I believe there is a rapidly growing
interest in these flowers, and because I know
of no work which has been published dealing
with them.

w.c.

DUDDINGSTON, EDINBURGH,

December, 1914-

Revised to date, a second edition is now
published. w-c-

December, 1919.

CONTENTS

SWEET PEAS

CHAPTER PAGE

I. THE COMING OF THE MODERN SWEET PEA II

II. CULTURE FOR THE AVERAGE MAN - 17

III. CULTURE FOR THE EXHIBITOR - 25

IV. CULTURE UNDER GLASS 38
V. BEST VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES 46

VI. CUTTING AND ARRANGING 56

VII. GROWING FOR SEED IN ENGLAND AND

CALIFORNIA 66

VIII. RAISING NEW VARIETIES - 78

IX. DISEASES AND INSECT TROUBLES 86

ANTIRRHINUMS

I. INTRODUCTION — DIFFERENT CLASSES - Q2

II. CULTURE ^ - - IO2

III. BEST VARIETIES - 106

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

ANTIRRHINUM " NOBILE " - IOQ

CLUMPS OF SWEET PEAS AT EDROM MANOR - l8

CROSSING - - 79, 8l

" DOBBIE'S CREAM " - 49

" DOROTHY ECKFORD " 14

" DUCHESS OF PORTLAND " - 53

DWARF OR TOM THUMB ANTIRRHINUMS - - ICO

EXHIBITION FLOWERS 27

EXHIBIT BY JONES AT CARLISLE 6l

FINE LINE FOR CUTTING •- - 21

FINE TYPE OF SPENCER ----- 15

FLOWERS UNDER GLASS - - 39

GROWING FOR SEED IN CALIFORNIA 74

GROWING FOR SEED IN ESSEX 69

GROWING FOR SEED UNDER GLASS - - 67, 71

" CONSTANCE HINTON " - - 47

MEDIUM OR INTERMEDIATE ANTIRRHINUMS 97

PLANTS TRAINED ON BAMBOOS - - 31

REMOVAL OF SIDE GROWTHS 33

REMOVAL OF TENDRILS 35

STRIPED ANTIRRHINUMS 93

VASES FOR EXHIBITION FLOWERS 5Q

SWEET PEAS

CHAPTER I
THE COMING OF THE MODERN SWEET PEA

I DO not intend to trouble my readers with a long
account of the history of the Sweet Pea. A few
salient facts must suffice. It is generally agreed
that the home of Lathyrus odoratus, the wild
Sweet Pea, is the Isles of the Mediterranean,
especially Sicily. In 1699, seeds of it were sent
to England by a well-known Italian botanist —
Franciscus Cupani. He was a devout monk of
the Church of Rome, and it strikes one as an
interesting coincidence that nearly two hundred
years later the work of another reverend Father
of the same Church should have a remarkable
bearing on the development of the modern Sweet
Pea. I refer to Abte Mendel.

The seeds were sent by Cupani to Dr. Uvedale,
of Enfield near London, who grew them in 1700,
the plants flowering the same year. It will be
remembered by many that 200 years later, in
1900, the bicentenary of the introduction of the
Sweet Pea into Great Britain was celebrated by a

Sweet Peas

great exhibition of Sweet Peas at the Crystal
Palace, London. My friend, the late Mr. Richard
Dean, and I were largely responsible for that
great event, out of which sprang the National
Sweet Pea Society of England.

By the end of the eighteenth century, the
following varieties of Sweet Peas were known to
be in existence— purple, red, white, black, and
Painted Lady. All these I imagine were simple
variations from the original form. There is no
record, so far as I know, of anyone having set
about the work of raising new varieties scientific-
ally until we come to Laxton and Eckford's work,
towards the end of the nineteenth century.

Early in the nineteenth century, a striped
variety appeared. In 1837, Messrs. James Carter
and Co., of London, offered all the foregoing
varieties for sale, and they were the introducers
of a number of others, the most noted being
Scarlet Invincible, which was the first Sweet
Pea to receive a first-class Certificate from the
Royal Horticultural Society ; that was in the
year 1865.

Before passing to the work of Mr. Henry
Eckford, a short reference is necessary to that of
Mr. Thomas Laxton. Mr. Laxton was a fine
florist of the old school, whom I knew personally.

The Coming of the Modern Sweet Pea

For ten years, 1883 to 1893, he was identified
with new varieties of Sweet Peas. Among the
better known varieties introduced by him were
Invincible Carmine, Invincible Blue, Etna, Madam
Carnot and Princess May.

I now come to Mr. Henry Eckford who has
been termed " the father of the Sweet Pea."
His name will be for ever associated with the
flower. Born in Scotland in 1823, he as a young
man migrated to England. While gardener to
Dr. Sankey, of Sandywell, Gloucester, he began
cross-fertilising Sweet Peas, with a view to their
improvement. This was about the year 1870.
Mr. Eckford relinquished private service and it
was from his gardens at Wem, in Shropshire, that
the new Sweet Peas were sent out, which made
his name famous wherever flowers are grown,
and which gave such an impetus to Sweet Pea
culture in America. Beginning in 1882 with
Bronze Prince, Mr. Eckford produced a series
of new Sweet Peas year by year, which were the
wonder and admiration of everyone, until the
advent of the waved or Spencer type in 1904.

Mr. Eckford's varieties all belonged in these
days to the hooded or erect standard type so
wel illustrated in the engraving of " Dorothy
Eckford."

. Sweet Peas

It is only necessary to mention a few of Mr.
Eckford's creations to revive charming memories
in the minds of my older readers. In addition
to Dorothy Eckford ; Queen Alexandra, King

"DOROTHY ECKFORD.'1

A FINE PURE WHITE HOODED FLOWER
RAISED BY HENRY ECKFORD.

Edward, Henry Eckford, Lord Rosebery, Othello,
Lady Penzance, Venus, Triumph, Lady Grisel
Hamilton, Her Majesty, Primrose, Prima Donna,

The Coming of the Modern Sweet Pea

Duchess of Westminster and Salopian were well
known.

' The Modern Sweet Pea " is of course the
waved or Spencer Sweet Pea, but-without Eckford's

A FINE TYPE OF SPENCER OR WAVED
SWEET PEA.

work it is very questionable if we should to-day
have had the waved Sweet Pea. It came out of
one of Eckford's varieties, I believe, as a mutation,
as it cropped up in several districts of England

Sweet Peas

about the same time and out of the same
variety, " Prima Donna." It is one of the most
remarkable things in horticulture that the Sweet
Pea, after remaining practically constant in form
for 200 years after its introduction into England,
should suddenly give rise in several places to the
enlarged and beautifully waved form associated
with the name of Countess Spencer. The credit
of first discovering and introducing this new type
will always belong to Mr. Silas Cole, who was
gardener to Earl Spencer at Althorp Park,
Northampton, in 1901. It was in that year
that Mr. Cole set up his remarkable exhibit at
the show of the National Sweet Pea Society,
at the Royal Aquarium, London, and from 1904,
when Countess Spencer was put on the market
by Mr. Robert Sydenham, the career of the
modern Sweet Pea may be said to have begun.

CULTURE FOR THE AVERAGE MAN

BY the average man I mean the man who requires
good average sweet peas for home decoration,
for cutting and giving away to friends, and who
is therefore not prepared to give their culture
anything like the great amount of attention
bestowed by the keen exhibitor on his plants.

The basis of successful sweet pea culture is
laid in the autumn in the preparation of the soil.
A site in the garden ought to be selected which
is well exposed to the sun, and sheltered from
strong and draughty winds. Whether the plants
are to be grown in lines or in clumps, I advocate
the digging two spits deep of the entire area. If
the subsoil is poor do not bring it to the surface,
but dig it all the same. If the work is honestly
carried out, the soil should be moved to the
depth of two feet. Manure should be incor-
porated in the soil in the process of autumn
digging — it is immaterial what sort of dung is
used, if it is rich and well made, that is, old and

Sweet Peas

partially decomposed. For light soils cow dung is
preferable. The question is often asked how much
well-made dung constitutes a good dressing ? The

CLUMPS IN EDROM MANSE GARDEN, BERWICKSHIRE.

answer is one hundredweight to six square yards.
Most soils are deficient in lime, and after the
digging has been completed the surface might

Culture for the Average Man

with advantage be dusted with powdered lime,1
which winter rains will work into the soil. By
dusting I mean powdered like a slight shower of
snow, an effect which can .be got by two to
three ounces of lime to each square yard. In the
rough condition in which it is left after the autumn
digging, the ground should be left until spring,
and the rougher it is left over winter, the better.
Just before planting time, the surface should
be worked down level with a rake or fork. The
question whether to grow in clumps or lines
must be left for decision to the taste of the
individual.

SEED SOWING. — If the average man wants to
have a few sweet peas in bloom by the end of
May and during June, he must sow a few seeds in
autumn, but this is not recommended unless he
has a frame or greenhouse. The end of September
or early October is a good time to sow in boxes,
putting the seeds in rows two to three inches
apart, and one to one-and-a-half inches between
the seeds, which should be planted about three-
quarters of an inch deep. The plants should
remain in the boxes in a frame until the middle of
January, when they will be much benefited by
being transplanted into boxes of fresh soil or

1 Freshly slaked lime.
19

S\veet Peas

potted off into small pots. After growth begins
the plants should have the tops pinched off to
encourage side growths which will spring from near
the base.

Supposing these early plants are not desired,
two other methods of sowing are practised which
I shall now describe.

SOWING UNDER GLASS. — As seeds of the fine
Spencer or waved Sweet Peas are rather ex-
pensive, sowing under glass is very generally
followed. It is of course necessary to have a
small greenhouse or a frame to carry it out ; or
to get the use of a neighbour's. Early in February
is quite a good time to sow, and the seeds should
be placed in boxes as described above. When the
plants have grown to five or six inches in height,
the tops should be pinched off, and instead of
transplanting as recommended with autumn-
sown plants, all that requires to be done is to
harden off the plants ; that is, gradually to
accustom them to do without the protection of
the glass until they have no protection whatever
night or day. This condition should be arrived
at early in April, because by mid-April the plants
must be planted out in their flowering quarters—
a little earlier or a little later according to locality.
Such plants will make a fine hedge of Sweet Peas

Culture for the Average Man

if put out a foot apart. Six or eight of them
will be enough for a clump two feet in diameter.
SOWING IN THE OPEN.— This should not be
attempted earlier than the -month of March,
and only then when soil is in good friable con-
dition. For out-of-door sowing, a double line is
recommended thus : —

A FINE LINE FOR CUTTING, STAKED WITH HAZEL BRANCHES.

Sweet Peas

the lines nine inches apart and the seeds three
to four inches apart in the lines and planted
one inch deep. Slugs and snails are apt to prey
on the young plants and must be watched for.
A slight dusting of lime is a good protection.
Birds are also depredators in some districts,
and if the rows cannot be protected by nets, a
few lines of black sewing thread stretched tightly
on short pins a few inches above the plants usually
scare the birds. If the germination is good, and
if the young plants are not destroyed, it will be
found they are rather thick in the lines as sown.
Thin them to six or nine inches apart — or even
twelve, if very strong. The thinnings can be
transplanted, if carefully lifted. Give them away
to a friend, and so encourage the growth of good
sweet peas!

As soon as possible — in the case of plants from
boxes or pots as soon as they are planted out—
they ought to be staked with small twigs if the
permanent stakes are not available. The question
of staking, i.e., of securing stakes is a difficult
one in many districts. Hazel branches eight
feet high are ideal, or light feathery branches
of any other tree make good stakes. If such
cannot be procured, the wire trainers supplied
by seedsmen can be used, only, if the plants are

Culture for the Average Matt

grown strongly two tiers of trainers will be found
necessary, and posts must be put in at the begin-
ning to carry them. The trainers are generally
made six by four feet, so that one above the other
gives a height of eight feet. It is not advisable
to put up the second one until the plants have
almost reached the top of the first one.

Wide meshed (four inch) wire netting is also
used by some, and makes a most effectual sub-
stitute for hazel or other natural stakes. It can
be got any width, and if neatly put up on posts
is not long unsightly, as the growths soon obscure
it. Clumps are easily made with this wide
meshed wire-netting. Cut it off in lengths of six
or seven feet, and secure it in the form of a circle
to two posts driven into the ground at two feet
apart. With all wire trainers the plants are helped
if tied in here and there with thin strands of
raffia. There has recently been put on the market
a string or cord netting for sweet peas, called
" Simplicitas Netting " and I have seen quite
good results with it in sheltered gardens. It
only remains to be said that the plants will
be much improved, the size of the flowers enlarged,
and the number of the stems increased if regular
doses of weak liquid manure are given along the
rows or round the clumps (keeping a few inches

Sweet Peas

back from the stems of the plants) once a week
after the first lot of flowers has expanded. It
is also necessary, as has so often been said
before, to cut all flowers immediately they begin
to go over, to prevent seed forming. If seed pods
are allowed to form in dry weather, the plants
will go out of bloom in a fortnight and will not
come into flower again.

CULTURE FOR THE EXHIBITOR

THE first concern of the grower who is going in
for exhibition is to procure good true seed of the
best exhibition varieties in September. A list
of the best sorts will be found in another chapter.
It is never advisable to grow a large number of
sorts. By that I mean, if a man will never
require more than twelve varieties for exhibition
at once, I strongly advise growing not more than
eighteen, and selecting these with the greatest
care. Surely it is the best policy to have twenty-
four plants of one variety rather than six plants
of four varieties occupying the same space of
ground. I guarantee it will be found so the day
before the show. If space is very limited, twelve
standard varieties and two or three novelties will
generally fit a man to go into a class for twelve
bunches, distinct varieties. On no account
should any one depend upon the bare dozen.

The seed having been procured, sowing must
be done in the last week of September or the
first one in October. The seed should be sown

Sweet Peas

in boxes or pots. If they can be allowed to
stand in a greenhouse until the seeds germinate
so much the better. Many people have difficul-
ties with germination. These arise either from
keeping the soil in the boxes too wet or too dry.
It is quite a good plan to thoroughly soak the
soil in the pots or boxes before sowing ; then lay
the seeds on top and cover with half an inch or
three-quarters of fine* soil or sand. The pots or
boxes can be shaded till germination takes place
by putting sheets of brown paper over them.
Seeds of cream, white, and lavender varieties
should on no account be put deeper than stated,
as they are more delicate and overwatering in
their case causes rotting at once. Very hard
skinned seeds — varieties like Elsie Herbert,
Sunproof Crimson, and Mrs. Cuthbertson — will
germinate quicker if a tiny little piece is chipped
off the side of each seed with a pen knife before
planting. If this is not done, and it is found
that some varieties do not appear above ground
by the time the others have germinated, the
seeds can be lifted and chipped and replanted,
after which they will germinate quickly. What to
strive after is to give seeds under glass conditions
similar to what they would find in the ground
in genial March and April weather.

FLOWERS FOR EXHIBITION AS GROWN BY MR. T. JONES,
RUABON, WALES.

Culture for the Exhibitor

After the plants are an inch or so in height,
the boxes or pots containing them should be placed
in a cold frame — keeping the sash on when weather
is very wet, snowy or frosty. For two or three
days after the plants are removed from the
greenhouse, the sash had better be kept close
over the plants till they get used to the new
conditions. Watering will not often be required
unless there is a period of bright sunshine. See
that there are no slugs or snails about the
frame, and if birds are plentiful, a piece of
netting will require to be stretched over the
frame to keep them from picking the leaves
when the sashes are opened. The plants
should remain in the frame till the beginning of
the new year, when they should be carefully
taken out of the boxes or pots and put into boxes
of fresh sweet soil mixed with some leaf mould
or old spent hops, or potted up singly into three-
inch pots filled with a similar compost. If they
can be kept in a cool greenhouse for a month
after this change, so much the better, and then
put into the frames, but, if a greenhouse is not
available, they must be returned to the frame and
the sash kept on for a month or so continuously,
giving plenty of air during the day, especially
in sunny weather. After growth has begun,

Sweet Peas

the centre of the main shoot should be pinched
off to cause side growths to break at the base of
the plants. These side growths usually come
away stronger than the main stem itself. When
the growths become five or six inches tall, small
twigs should be inserted round the edges of the
pots, and even a few among the plants in boxes
will be helpful. When the plants are transplanted
into the boxes in January, they should be placed
about three inches apart so that they can be
lifted with plenty of soil adhering to the roots at
planting out time in April. Then they should be
planted out in lines, the strong growing varieties
twelve to eighteen inches apart, so that two or
three growths can be taken up, the weaker-
growing ones six to twelve inches apart, as it is
advisable to train only one or two growths from
them. The accompanying illustration clearly
shows how the work should be done.

The best growers use thin bamboo canes as
shown in engraving. These are inserted six
inches apart and tied firmly to wires stretched
on posts, or to thin wooden rails securely nailed
to posts placed about six feet apart. From the
very start one growth is led up each cane and tied
as required. All side growths are rubbed out,
only the flower stems which will appear when the

Culture for the Exhibitor

plants are about two feet high being left to
develop, in addition to the main shoot which is
kept going all the time. This process is well
illustrated in the accompanying illustration.

After the first flowers have appeared, feeding
the plants with liquid manure should begin.

Sweet Peas

Once a week is often enough, and there is nothing
better than the old-fashioned preparation of
sheep dung and soot. Put a peck of sheep dung
into a thin potato sack and place it in a thirty
gallon barrel stood on end with the top removed.
Into another barrel of same size, put a peck of
soot done up in a bag in the same way. Fill
the barrels with water and allow to stand for
twenty-four hours. To feed the plants take a
pint of liquid out of each barrel and add to one
gallon of water, stir and apply this dose along
the lines of plants about six inches away from
the stems. It is a good plan to make a rut with
a hoe, two inches deep, apply the liquid and re-
place the soil. This can be done with safety once
a week. As the soot and dung get exhausted
increase the pint of each to one and a quarter
or one and a half per gallon. Renew entirely
the soot and dung when the mixture begins to
get weak. One gallon of liquid is enough for
five or six feet of a row of plants. One other hint
here will be helpful. The flower buds on sweet
pea plants often drop off without expanding.
Under glass they even do this at times. It is
caused by sudden changes which check growth,
and there is nothing more ready to cause it than
chill cold water. If soft water which has been

Culture for the Exhibitor

exposed to the sun cannot be obtained, a little
hot water added to each gallon will save the

situation — a pint to a gallon. In the height of
summer this will not be necessary, but it is always

Sweet Peas

a good thing to let water to be used for watering
plants of any kind, stand exposed to air and
sun for twelve hours before using. All flowers
as they reach maturity must be cut to secure a
continuance of bloom, and if plants are inclined
to come into flower before they have got sufficient
strength, the flowers should be removed as soon
as they show for a time.

If the sheep dung and soot liquid cannot be
prepared, a good artificial fertilizer can be used
with advantage, either in a liquid form or applied
dry alongside the plants — keeping it a few inches
back — and watering it well in with pure water.

Nearly all the keenest growers remove the
tendrils, and this cut illustrates how that should
be done. When the plants are trained on the
" cordon " system and tied regularly, tendrils
are not required, and if left to develop usually
twine themselves round the flower stems and cause
them to be bent.

This chapter started with seed sowing. There
is still a process of vital importance to the suc-
cessful exhibitor to be dealt with, and that is
soil preparation.

I am no believer in the four to six feet deep
cultivation, with layers of manure on the sandwich
principle all through. A good two feet or thirty

Culture for the Exhibitor

inches is ample. Remove the top twelve inches
and get down into the subsoil twelve or fifteen
inches, incorporating thoroughly with it plenty
of good half-decomposed durtg— horse if the soil
is heavy, cow if it is light. Into the top twelve
inches when it is being replaced, incorporate
more decomposed manure and some leaf soil
or spent hops. If this is done and done well
in November, it will require nothing more till
spring, when only the top should be pricked over
with a fork two or three weeks before planting.
One great advantage of preparation in autumn is
that the ground gets time to settle down. To get
a good short- jointed growth on sweet peas, the
ground must be firm. Artificial manures are all
very well, but a little goes a long way. A little
bone meal and a little superphosphate dusted on
the top of the subsoil in autumn will be helpful,
but more than that I do not advise.1 If it is not
too much labour and expense, the whole plot of
ground should be prepared as advised, but ex-
cellent results will be obtained by preparing
trenches three feet wide as advised above, leaving
three feet of untrenched ground between each
trench. Rows of sweet peas for exhibition
should not be closer than six feet.

1 See note as to liming on p. 19.

CULTURE UNDER GLASS

GROWING Sweet Peas under glass has become
quite a common practice in recent years. In
America, the winter flowering section is largely
grown, but great success has not been obtained
with them in Britain. The winter-flowering race
is different in habit from the ordinary sweet
pea. They run up to a height of nearly two
feet before they break out freely into side growths,
'and the flowers are smaller than the summer-
blooming sorts. For those who wish to try
these winter bloomers, I cannot do better than
quote the instructions given in a Bulletin on
Winter Flowering Sweet Peas, issued by the
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University,
U.S.A.

" Winter flowering Sweet Peas grow six to ten
or more feet high, and if they are to attain their
full development, a house with this amount of
headroom is required. They need all the light
they can get, as the lighter the house, the more

VERY FINE FLOWERS UNDER CLASS FOR EXHIBITION,

Culture under Glass

blooms there will be ... Sweet Peas may
be grown on benches, but solid beds are better
since the plants require a deep, moist, cool soil.
The roots should be given an opportunity to
go down, by properly preparing the soil two or
three feet in depth. . • . . The seeds may be
sown in the beds or benches where they are to
stand, or they may be sown in pots. The former
method gives the best results [From my experi-
ence in England, I should question this. — W.C.].

The Sweet Pea. must be kept growing steadily
from the day the seed is sown. When water is
needed, do not apply near the plants, but between
the rows, where it should be given liberally. This
treatment is especially important with the early
plantings. One reason why water should not be
applied too near the plants is that they are
especially subject to damping off. This trouble
becomes more prevalent in October and Novem-
ber, when there are more cloudy days, cool nights
and like conditions. Because of this no soil
should be heaped around the stems.

" TIME TO PLANT. — When a good crop is
desired for Christmas, the seed should be sown
the 20th of August. . When sown September 1st,
the plants will flower in January. When sown
September 15th, the main crop will be in Feb-

Sweet Peas

ruary, and when sown in October, the crop will
be ready in March. November sowings flower
in the latter part of March ; December sowings
in April; January, sowings in April and May;
February sowings from May 1st on, and a March
sowing in May or June. This gives the time when
a reasonable crop can be expected, although
flowers will be cut, especially with certain varieties,
in a shorter interval than that given

" SUPPORTS. — As soon as the peas are up, a
support must be furnished. This may consist of
string, wire and string, or wire netting . . .

" TEMPERATURE. — Keep the temperature in the
early stage as low as possible, giving full ven-
tilation, day and night, as late as possible with-
out freezing. The cooler the plants can be kept
while growing the stronger and haalthier they
will be. In this way the natural outdoor spring
conditions are approximated. When the flower
buds can be felt in the tips of the growing stems,
the temperature should be raised one degree at
night, until fifty degrees is attained, which is
the proper temperature during December, January
and February. On bright days, a rise of ten
degrees or even fifteen degrees may be given.
On cloudy days fifty-five degrees is high enough,
for higher temperatures on such days often

Culture under Glass

promote soft, succulent growth. Plenty of ven-
tilation should be given at every opportunity,
as this, with careful regulation of temperature,
causes a firm growth."

In Britain plants are usually grown to bloom
from the beginning of April onward till the out-
of-door flowers are ready, and it can with perfect
truth be said that as fine flowers can be grown
in this way as out of doors./ The usual standard
sorts are grown. In the Gardeners' Chronicle of
September 5th, 1914. The method of growirg
under glass adopted by Messrs. Bobbie & Co.,
was described as follows — with what remarkable
success all the world knows !

" The seeds should be sown in boxes or pots
at the end of 'September, or early in October,
and allowed to remain in a cold frame or a sheltered
corner out of doors, until after Christmas. By
that time they will be hardy little plants, possessing
plenty of roots and ready for potting on into
small sixty sized pots. When they are potted
they should be grown in a greenhouse or close
frame. It is surprising how quickly they com-
mence to develop, and at this stage care in water-
ing and airing are the principal requirements.
They should be grown under a cool treatment, for

Sweet Peas

if coddled they make weak spindly growth. In
six or eight weeks after potting, they should be
shifted into their flowering receptacles, whether
pots, boxes or tubs, or they may be planted in
the border of the house. The most suitable
compost is formed of good loam, a little decayed
stable manure, sand, bone meal, and a dusting
of soot. In this mixture, the plants will grow
well until they reach the flowering stage, when
the roots should be fed with manure water twice
a week. If large blooms up to exhibition size
are required, the plants should be thinned to
two or three shoots and then staked and tied.
The main growths can be trained into any shape,
and when they have reached the top of the house
they can be untied, bent, and thus brought down
to within three or four feet of the ground without
injury. The variety Mrs. Cuthbertson has grown
twenty-two feet long, being taken down from the
roof when necessary. Such a plant will produce
fifty to sixty good flowers on each growth.

Treated in this way a long season of first-rate
flowers with long stems is assured. If grown in
pots, tubs or boxes for decoration, the shoots
may be trained on a framework, or Simplicitas
netting, which makes a neat, tidy support and
will last for several years. A mulch of short

Culture under Glass

manure will help to prolong the flowering season.
Sweet Peas are seen at their best under glass^
for rain, run or wind cannot damage them."

The following varieties are best for culture
under glass — Alexander Malcolm scarlet, Ivorine
cream, Mrs. Hitchcock cream pink, Mrs. T.
Jones blue, Constance Hinton white, Elfrida
Pearson pink, Illuminator cerise pink, Melba
salmon, Mrs. Cuthbertson rose and white, Royal
Purple, Thos. Stevenson orange scalret, Old Rose,
Bobbie's Maroon.

The number of plants put into the flowering
tubs or pots depends on how they are going to be
treated. If to be disbudded and trained as
cordons three or four plants must go in a ten or
twelve-inch pot. If they are to be allowed to
grow naturally, two good plants are enough.

BEST VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT
PURPOSES

THERE are many hundreds of varieties of Sweet
Peas. In such a number many are found more
suited than others for special purposes and,
trying to make things as simple as possible for
the reader, I proceed to set out these. To a large
extent I shall be guided by the decisions of the
National Sweet Pea Society, which has, each
year since it was founded, issued lists of best
varieties drawn up by a committee of the cleverest
experts in Britain.

FOR EXHIBITION

Whites - Constance Hinton.

Edna May.

Etta Dyke.
Creams - - Dobbie's Cream.

Ivorine.
Crimsons - - Sunproof Crimson.

Maud Holmes.

"CONSTANCE HINTON.'

THE BEST CREAM COLOURED WAVED VARIETY.

Best Varieties for Different Purposes

Rose and Carmine

Orange -

Pink

Cream Pink -

Blush -

Cerise

Laveoder

Bicolour

Maroon

Mauve

John Ingman.

Rosabelle.

Thomas Stevenson (orange

scarlet) .

Edrom Beauty (orange pink)
- Elfrida Pearson (pale).
Hercules (deep).
Duchess of Portland.
Mrs. A. Hitchcock.
Margaret Atlee (deep).
Princess Victoria.
Pink Pearl.
Agricola (lilac blush).
Mrs. Bishop.
Illuminator.

Lavender George Herbert.
Orchid.
R. A. Felton.
Mrs. Cuthbertson (rose and

white) .
Marks Tey (maroon and

mauve) .

Debbie's Maroon.
Warrior.

Queen of Norway.
New Marquis.

Sweet Peas

Salmon - Melba (requires shading).

Purple - Royal Purple.

Scarlet - - Alex Malcolm.

Bobbie's Scarlet.
Picotee-edged - Jean Ireland (cream ground).

Elsie Herbert (white ground)

Fancy - May Campbell (cream

marbled carmine).

Charles Foster (pale mauve
and pink).

FOR GARDEN DECORATION.

(and cutting freely ; also for market or other

purposes) .

Semi-double Cream Pink.
Fine White.

Cerise pink flushed Salmon.
Lavender.
Rose.
Maroon.
Orange Scarlet.

Mrs. A. Hitchcock

Nora Unwin -

Illuminator -

R. F. Felton -

Rosabelle

Warrior

Thomas Stevenson

Sunproof Crimson or

Maud Holmes - Crimson.
Bobbie's Cream - Cream.

ONE OF THE BEST CREAM-PINKS.

Best Varieties for different Purposes

Elfrida Pearson Blush Pink.

Mrs. Cuthbertson - Rose and White bicolor.

Mrs. T. Jones - Clear Blue.

FOR TABLE DECORATION

Bobbie's Cream - Cream.
Lavender George

Herbert

Barbara or Melba -
Jean Ireland
Illuminator
Elsie Herbert
Thomas Stevenson
Edrom Beauty
Mrs. A. Hitchcock
Mrs. T. Jones
Alex. Malcolm

Lavender.
Deep Salmon.
Buff and Rose.
Pink and Salmon.
White, edged Rose.
Orange Scarlet.
Light Orange Pink.
Cream Pink.
.Blue.
Scarlet.

CUTTING AND ARRANGING FLOWERS

FOR

EXHIBITION AND TABLE DECORATION

IN the days of long ago, my old friend and
employer, Mr. James Dobbie, used to tell me that
success on the exhibition table was as much depen-
dent on the treatment the flowers received after
they were cut as on what had gone before. And
he was right. I have often seen indifferent
flowers, well staged, beat much better ones,
badly staged.

There is an art in setting up flowers, but it is an
art which can be acquired. The time spent by
the old florists on " dressing " their Pansies,
Carnations, Roses or Chrysanthemums would,
if known, surprise modern cultivators. Many
an all-night sitting was put in at such work.
The individual flowers of Sweet Peas do not
require to be dressed, but there is great room
for the display of taste in setting up and
arranging.

Exhibition and Table Decoration

Preparatory to beginning to cut flowers for
exhibition, a number of jars or vases should be
filled with water and placed in a light room or
shed. The flowers should be cut with as long
stems as possible, and for this purpose a pair of
scissors is best, as the points get down into the
axil and do the work without risk of cutting the
main stem. Each separate variety as it is cut
should be put in water.

The stage at which Sweet Peas should be cut
for exhibition is when they are just coming to
full perfection — certainly not after they are full-
blown, and for this reason; all flowers, if cut at
the right stage, increase considerably in size in
water.

Most flowers which come from a distance to the
big shows must be cut twenty-four to thirty
hours before the show. This is obvious when we
think of the distance they have to travel. With
few exceptions, this long period does no harm.
Varieties which it is advisable to cut as near the
hour of the show as possible, are the crimsons
and some deep rose-coloured sorts, also varieties
which have a purple shading in the flowers. The
latter do not improve in water, as the purple
goes to a cold, dark shade — what we should call
" blae " in Scotland.

Sweet Peas

On the other hand, self purples, blues and
lavenders all improve in water, and should be
kept in a good light.

To be specific — if suitable, I should cut
my flowers on Friday morning for a show
on Saturday, all except the crimsons and
deep-rose varieties. These I should cut on
Friday night, unless the prospect of settled
weather was assured and the show was near
home. Then I would leave the crimsons, etc ,
till early Saturday morning before cutting, and
carry them to the show in water, when they would
retain all their particular freshness and beauty.
All other sorts would have" improved by standing
in water for twenty-four hours.

Sometimes it is impossible to avoid cutting
flowers when they are wet. In all such cases a
great effort must be made to get them dry before
show time. This can be done by placing the jars
containing the flowers in a dry, airy position—
if no better place is obtainable, close to an
open window will do if the door of the room
is also left open to induce movement in
the air.

The number of flowers required for a vase
under the regulations of the National Sweet Pea
Society is twenty. If preparing for a show under

Exhibition and Table Decoration

similar regulations, it is advisable to cut from
twenty-four to thirty spikes, so that, when staging
at the show, a selection of the best twenty can
be made.

If twelve bunches are required, it is always
advisable to carry with you one or two spare
ones, as some varieties always carry better than
others.

JONES'S PATENT

SWEET PEA STONEWARE VASES.

VASE.

Some exhibitors carry their flowers all the way
to the show in jars of water, but this is not essen-
tial. A very excellent way is to tie a handful of
wet moss round the bottom of the stems, or wrap
a piece of newspaper, which has been soaked in

Sweet Peas

water, round the bottom six inches of the stems,
then put a swirl of tissue paper round the entire
bunch. The bunches can be stood upright
in a square box like a tea-chest or they can
be packed on their sides in a flat box, one layer
deep.

Of course, it is essential that the flowers be
absolutely dry before being packed in this way,
and it is hardly necessary to say that the boxes
must not be left to the tender mercies of railway
porters without supervision. These men are
often abused, but I have had over thirty years
experience of them, and have never found them
unkind to boxes of flowers, if politely asked to
handle them carefully.

The flowers are usually staged in glass vases
or small stone jars, and to prevent the flower
stems slipping down to the bottom of the vases
or jars, several pieces of Gypsophila or a number
of rushes cut square across the top, are inserted
into the mouths of the jars. When this is done
the blossoms remain readily in the position
desired by the exhibitor.

In arranging the vases on the show table, it
is always best to work for a harmony of colour
rather than contrasts.

The vases should be placed on stepped or tiered
60

Exhibition and* Table Decoration

staging so that every bunch will be easily seen by
the judges.

Each bunch should be named. Most societies
make this a condition, but- whether or not it
should be done, as naming always makes a flower
show more interesting and often conveys valuable
information to beginners.

TABLE DECORATION

The arranging of flowers nicely on dinner
tables and in vases about the home is quite
an art.

For an ordinary dinner table, five vases for the
centre and one for each of the four corners makes
an ideal decoration if they are harmoniously
filled with beautiful flowers. Not more than
two colours should ever be used at the same
time — for example, cream and lavender, cream
and salmon, a variety such as " Jean Ireland "
with a few blooms of " Illuminator "or
" Melba."

A decoration of " Elsie Herbert " by itself is
very charming.

If the flowers are good, the arrangement does
not present many difficulties. The trouble is
often to find suitable foliage to associate with
Sweet Peas, as a change from their own foliage

Sweet Peas

is a pleasant variation when Sweet Peas are being
pretty constantly used.

Trails of Smilax or Asparagus do very well,
especially the former. If pieces of bronzy tinted
foliage or Selaginella can be obtained to asso-
ciate with buff-coloured flowers, the effect is
very fine.

On no account should flowers be laid on the
table without being in water, as is sometimes
done, and mirrors in the centres of tables are
never in good taste.

In filling large jars for other positions in the
home, the foregoing suggestions should be carried
out.

The best effects are always obtained by large
vases of one colour.

No better advice can be given to the beginner
than to experiment on every possible opportunity
with the flowers he cuts from time to time to keep
his plants going. Arrange vases of different
varieties and observe their behaviour. Experience
gained in this way is many times more valuable
than anything that can be learned by reading.
If a successful exhibitor lives near, his aid
might be called in, and I am sure it will be
given.

J never yet knew a florist who was not willing
64

Exhibition and Table Decoration

to help a beginner. Take a handful of good
flowers to him and observe the effect— he cannot
help handling them as if they were things appealing
to his better nature, and all the time he is doing
so you are learning your lesson.

VII
SEED GROWING

WHEN the grandiflora or old type of Sweet Pea was
the only one in existence, seed growing presented
few difficulties. It was a common sight then to
see acres of plants unstaked, from which quite
good crops of seed were obtained ; now-a-days,
if the same method was tried with the waved
varieties, the result would be a complete failure.

The reason is that the waved forms with a very
few exceptions are not free seeders. The repro-
ductive organs are more delicate ; they are not
so well situated to assure pollination being ac-
complished, and adverse weather conditions at
once tell on them.

Sweet Pea growing for seed has therefore
"changed hands" in England, and what is done
now is done by growers who are more or less ex-
perts. It has been found that spring-sown plants
are much less reliable than autumn-sown ones for
seed, and therefore the practice of autumn-sowing
is generally followed by the best firms. The seed

SWEET PEAS UNDER GLASS FOR SEED.

Seed Growing

may be sown in the open where the plants are
to remain and flower if the land is well drained
and the exposure good, and where such sowings

LINES FOR SEED IN ESSEX.

are successful and come through the winter
untarnished, the yield is always good, provided
a decent summer follows. In England it is always

Sweet Peas

necessary to stake Sweet Peas in some way;
they cannot be left to support themselves as in
California, and therefore it is necessary to sow in
rows at least five feet apart. Staking of course
in the field does not require to be done so care-
fully as in a garden, and such stakes have to be
used as can conveniently be obtained by cutting
down hedges or brushwood, or by using wi/e
meshed wire netting.

It will be readily understood that sowing seeds
in the open field of very choice varieties is at all
times rather a risky business, and besides valuable
stock seed can be made to go a very much longer
way by being sown in pots or boxes under glass
and planted out in spring. This is the method
\ followed by my firm, Messrs. Dobbie & Co., at
their farm in Essex, and the results obtained by
them are admitted to be the best in Europe. It
means more work, more expense, and a large
extent of glass, but success is much more certain,
and, as I have already said, the utmost possible
can be made out of scarce things, yet, in addition
to the method just described, it has been found
necessary by Messrs. Dobbie & Co. to adopt
a still more reliable system, i.e. the growing
of some sorts under glass for seed. Several
of the most charming varieties are so uncertain

Seed Growing

in the open air that large glass houses have been
specially built to grow them in, and the success
which has been obtained by this method has
been great. I do not say -it would pay in a
wholesale way, but when a firm like Dobbies is
growing almost solely for their own retail trade,
it works out all right.

A FINE CROP OF SEED UNDER GLASS.
71

Sweet Peas

The harvesting in England is done by hand
picking. The pods begin to get ripe by the end
of July and they require to be gathered once or
twice a week according to the weather conditions
which prevail. In some seasons this work may
go on until the end of September, but such pro-
longed seasons are not liked as they mean the
process of ripening is slow and unsatisfactory.

In England where the crops are grown on stakes,
the process of rogueing is easily done and growers
have no excuse for not purifying their stocks, if
they possess the knowledge and skill necessary
to do the work. People who do not possess
such, should certainly not call themselves experts.
A great work has been done in the way of renewing
stocks in recent years. Varieties are raised by
cross-fertilization, identical with the older named
varieties, and many of the stocks on the market
now are not the original ones, but new re-created
ones.

The care of stock seed is an expression which
may not convey much to the ordinary reader,
but it is the crux of all successful seed growing,
whether it be Sweet Peas or anything else. Just
as the rearer of pedigree cattle looks ever and
always to the parents of his stock, so does the
raiser of good strains of seeds. In two generations

Seed Growing

a stock, however good, could be ruined, and in
two generations a stock, however good, can be
improved ; but to accomplish the latter often-
times requires a life's knowledge and experience,
and further, it always means living in closest
touch with the plants or animals to observe their
points — to detect weaknesses and to be ready to
take advantage of the slightest improvements.
In conclusion, permit me to say, never grudge
a fair price for pure seeds. Life is too short to
run the risk of disappointment, and the loss of
a year, by risking cheap products in one's garden.

IN CALIFORNIA

California is the great Sweet Pea seed growing
centre of the world. As all know, the climate
is superb and the soil conditions are admirable in
the stretch of land from San Francisco to Los
Angeles. There, in the year 1914, nearly 3,000
acres were devoted to Sweet Pea culture for seed.
Many firms are engaged in the business, the chief
one being Messrs. C. C. Morse & Co., who grow
about 400 acres of the most up-to-date varieties
in the most up-to-date style.

The method of procedure is as follows. Im-
mediately the summer crops are removed, the land
is ploughed by powerful steam ploughs, and as

Sweet Peas

it often has had no rain for months, it comes up
in great rough blocks. Manure is not applied,
as the natural fertility of the soil is great and
carries crops to perfection without dung or
artificial manure. Rain and weather gradually
act on the ploughed land, and by November it

TEN ACRES OP "WHITE SPENCER" FOR SEED IN CALIFORNIA.

is worked down into fine friable condition. Sowing
is done during November and December — it must
be completed by Christmas if satisfactory yields
are to be expected. The seed is sown by seed-
drilling machines in rows three feet apart, and
from eight to ten pounds of seed is required
to sow an acre. After germination, the ground

Seed Growing

between the rows is constantly cultivated and
hoed until the plants meet in the drills, which
is usually in April. The plants make great
growth — from three to five feet in height, and
they branch out so vigorously that every inch
of the ground is covered : a field of Sweet Peas
in May and June might be compared to a
fine field of wheat in this country just before
harvest — as well filled up and as level in appear-
ance, and it is quite common to see ten to twenty
acres of one variety. Under such conditions
one can imagine the process of " rogueing " to
be a difficult one, and the Californian growers
have found it so, but on the up-to-date ranches
like Morse's the work of " rogueing " is now
reduced to the minimum on account of the greatest
care being exercised to obtain specially pure stock
seed. This is grown apart and worked up from
true types of all the test varieties.

The plants remain in bloom in normal seasons
from the end of April to mid- June. The harvest
is usually ready in July, and the vast areas are
cut with mowers and the crops piled on huge
canvas sheets, where they remain in that perfect
climate until they are threshed. A motor thresh-
ing machine is drawn alongside and the work
performed. The yield ranges in good seasons

Sweet Peas

from about 400 Ibs. of Spencer or waved varieties,
to 1,000 Ibs. of old type varieties per acre. After
threshing, the seed is removed to the cleaning
houses and put through a series of electrically
driven mills. This milling is so perfect that
hand picking is not necessary to make a market-
able sample. From San Francisco and other
centres the seed is despatched to all parts of the
world. In California the labour problem is a
most serious one in all seed-growing undertakings.
Everything that can possibly be done by machinery
is done, as the cost, i.e. the wages, of even the
commonest labour is two to three times what it
is in Britain. Then there are difficulties some-
times with the weather even in that so-called
perfect region — heat waves come and things are
rushed prematurely to maturity, with the result
that the crops are well nigh failures, and the mer-
chants have to be content with twenty-five per
cent., or less sometimes, of the amounts contracted
for. Aphis or fly is another trouble, and frequently
large areas have to be ploughed up, the trouble
gets so bad.

Messrs. W. Atlee Burpee & Co., of Phila-
delphia, who are so well known throughout the
Sweet Pea world, have a ranch for seed-growing
in California.

Seed Growing

California is truly a country of big things, arid
if growers get big crops three seasons out of
every four, doubtless they are doing very well
at this business of growing Sweet Peas for seed.

CHAPTER VIII
RAISING NEW VARIETIES

PRIOR to the introduction of the waved Sweet
Pea Countess Spencer, the raising of new varieties
was almost entirely in the hands of Mr. Henry
Eckford, and had been for a long series of years.
As already mentioned, Countess Spencer was raised
by Mr. Cole — head gardener to Earl Spencer, at
Althorp Park — and sold by him to Mr. Sydenham,
who sent it to America to be grown for seed,
When the produce came back to Britain and was
sold, it was found to contain many other varieties
(some waved and some old type), besides Countess
Spencer. This must have arisen through part
of the stock seed being unfixed. No theory of
insect cross-fertilization can ever account for
what that stock contained. It gave Helen
Lewis, John Ingman and many others which
were isolated and fixed by different firms. There
are two ways of obtaining new varieties. First
by cross-breeding. Second, by watching for,
and fixing, distinct variations or breaks which

Raising New Varieties

from time to time occur in standard varieties.
Fine varieties like Mrs. Cuthbertson, Rosabelle

THE AUTHOR OPERATING.

(Bobbie's), Mrs. Hugh Dickson and New Marquis,
originated as breaks, while Marks Tey, May
Campbell, Elfrida Pearson, Melba, Bobbie's

Sweet Peas

Scarlet and Hercules were bred from selected
parents. Raising new varieties is very interesting
and very fascinating work, but it takes years
to achieve results. By results I mean the fixing
a variety after it is raised and working up a
stock to make it of commercial value. This
need not however prevent the smallest grower
keeping a look-out for " breaks," as seminal
variations are rather improperly called. A pod
or two of seed can usually be saved and the
produce grown the following year to ascertain
if it is fixed. Then if it is, it can be submitted
to an expert to ascertain if it is ever likely to be
of much commercial value.

I will now proceed to explain the process of
raising new varieties by cross-fertilization.
Supposing, for the sake of illustration, it was
desired to endeavour to get a large scarlet
variety which would produce four bloom sprays
in abundance — which no scarlet variety at present
does — one would ask oneself which was the
brightest scarlet. The answer might be Bobbie's
Scarlet, Red Star, or Scarlet Monarch. Well
one of these would be one of the parents, while
the other would be a vigorous growing variety
which produced large flowers on four bloom sprays
every time. Asking oneself which varieties did

u_
h

c
z

UJ
UJ
X
UJ

I
H

Raising New Varieties

this, irrespective of colour, one would answer,
Mrs. Cuthbertson, Agricola, Hercules or Marks
Fey. One of these, say Mrs. Cuthbertson, would
be adopted as the female parent, and in the early
bud stage, some flowers would require to be
emasculated by removing all the anthers before
they had dehisced, i.e., burst and shed their
pollen. These flowers must be carefully marked
and the next day, or the following one, pollen
must be brought from the other parent, the
bright scarlet one, and applied to the stigma
of Mrs. Cuthbertson. How this is best done is
shown in the accompanying illustration. The
marked flowers should then follow their normal
process and ripen pods of seed which must be
carefully saved and kept in separate packets
till sowing time. The seeds are sown and treated
in the ordinary way, special strong culture not
being advisable for such plants. They ought
however to be planted where they can have room
to grow as distinct plants and not get intertwined
with any others. It is here that one of the most
wonderful and interesting things happens. On
the flowers produced on these plants no dependence
at all can be placed. Students of Mendel's law
will understand why this is, and those who have
not studied Mendelism ought to do so if they

Sweet Peas

seriously intend to take up the raising ox new
Sweet Peas. The seeds of the plants produced
in this, the first or F i generation, must be care-
fully saved and carefully kept separate and
labelled. Next sowing time they, or a part of
them, must be sown and planted at least a foot
apart — eighteen inches is better — in the lines.
In this generation, called F 2, new forms will
arise and it is possible the 'large scarlet, giving
plenty of " fours," which was the object in view
when setting out, may appear. If it does, it must
be carefully marked and the seed saved for sowing
again next season to see if it is fixed, and will
breed true to the improved type. Of course it
may or it may not. It if does not, some other
selection may give something of promise, and
the process of growing to prove must be carried
on the following season. It will be seen from this
that the process of raising is a prolonged one,
and after the new variety has proved to be fixed,
a stock must be worked up for sale which may
take other two or three years. The process of
raising new Sweet Peas is very much like that of
raising new Daffodils. It is the first years that
are the trying ones. After persistently making
crosses for four or five years, if one continues
making a few each year, thereafter the reward

Raising New Varieties

comes along every year, because new forms come
into bloom for the first time every season. Another
hint I may give. Do not throw away odd things
— give them a trial, as they often are the carriers
of real novelties which appear later. It is of
course here that experience tells, because an
expert can often see what is likely to come out of
a peculiarly tinted flower, though at the moment
of observation it gives little promise.

One of the most lovely Sweet Peas ever raised
is Audrey Crier, a most charming salmon pink ;
but it is a heterozygote and will not breed true.
Those who admire this flower could have it true
every year if they would make a cross between
Princess Victoria and Edrom Beauty. In the
first generation the flowers would be Audrey
Crier, but in the next it would break up and give
the three forms, Princess Victoria, Edrom Beauty
and Audrey Crier. If seed was saved from Audrey
Crier in the second generation, in the following
one it would break up and give the other two as
well as itself, hence its being termed heterozygous.
Edrom Beauty and Princess Victoria if saved
would breed true and are consequently termed
homozygous.

CHAPTER IX
DISEASES AND INSECT TROUBLES

QUITE recently I had a letter from a very noted
gardener, in which he said Sweet Peas were going
out of cultivation to a great extent in his part of
the country, because so many growers had their
plants destroyed by streak disease. He added
that it was his conviction that the disease was
chiefly caused by over-manuring. This statement
brings to mind a discussion at one of the Confer-
ences of the National Sweet Pea Society on this
same subject. Mr. Andrew Ireland, formerly
Messrs. Dobbie & Co.'s Sweet Pea grower,
gave his experience in this wise. He was asked
to go and inspect a lot of Sweet Peas which had
streak trouble. Like the practical man he is, he
got a spade and turned up some of the soil in which
the plants were growing. After doing so, he turned
to the grower and said, " My man, it is not a
gardener you should have sent for, but a sanitary
inspector ! " Against this, we have to put a
statement made at the same Conference by Mr.

Diseases and Insect Troubles

Alexander Malcolm of Duns. Mr. Malcolm said
that he knew of a lot of Sweet Peas in East
Lothian which had gone off with streak disease,
although planted out in perfectly fresh ground
which had not been manured at all. Now I think
it is just possible the cause of the trouble in both
these instances was the same — the lack of the
work of nodule-forming bacteria. In the first
instance because the plants were overdone with
nitrogenous manure ; in the second because the
bacteria were absent. My readers may not
all be aware that plants of the order Leguminosce,
to which the Sweet Pea belongs, are able to
absorb nitrogen prepared for them from
the atmosphere by the bacteria contained in
the nodules on the roots of the plants. These
nodules are easily observed by the naked eye.
It is thus that a crop of peas or clover is a good
preparation for a crop of a different character,
because the ground Rafter them is left richer in
nitrogen. Nothing is accurately known about
streak disease, and no cure has been found for it.
I have grown Sweet Peas in large and small
quantities for twenty years at least, and I have
never had any trouble with streak. I have seen
a few plants here and there in a big plantation
become sickly. Possibly they had streak disease

Sweet Peas

but we never took time to consider that — out they
came and went the most direct road to the boiler
furnace. The National Sweet Pea Society
appointed a committee to investigate " Streak,"
and it also offered valuable prizes for a remedy,
but nothing has come of either move. If 1 had
a trench or a bed of Sweet Peas go oif badly with
streak or any other similar trouble, I should
clear the lot off and burn them. Then I should
dig the trench or bed at once, fifteen to eighteen
inches deep, and work in a lot of freshly slaked
lime and leave it at that till early next spring,
when I should dig again, and in April plant out
my Sweet Peas as usual. Not a drop of fresh
manure would I give if it had been heavily man-
ured for the crop which went off. I should conclude
that the manuring had been overdone and what
the land required was sweetening and resting.
After the plants got to their flowering stage, I
would then feed them with liquid manure.

Other leaf and stem diseases are mildew and
spot disease — allied to mould or blight. These
are seldom if ever seen in well-grown plants.
If observed in the early stages they can be suc-
cessfully combated on lines similar to those
followed when attacking mildew in roses, i.e. —
dusting with flowers of sulphur.

Diseases and Insect Troubles

Insect troubles are not numerous. The most
serious is green-fly. I once saw this pest attack
a big lot of plants so seriously and rapidly as to
destroy them. It is much more likely to occur
in the south than in the north. If its beginnings
are carefully watched for, it can be stopped, and
there is nothing better than the old-fashioned
solution of soft-soap and quassia. Two to three
ounces of soap thoroughly dissclved in a gallon of
water and a tablespoonful or two of strong quassia
extract, the whole well worked together with
a syringe before applying, is a sure preventive
of the fly spreading. If weather is wet, two
applications may have to be made. The soap
should be dissolved first in a quart of hot water
and the rest of the gallon made up with cold water.
If it is too troublesome or inconvenient to use
soap and quassia, then I recommend a nicotine
insecticide such as one of the " XL All "
preparations used as directed.

Other troublesome Sweet Pea visitors are mice,
slugs and birds.

Mice get at the seed immediately it is sown if
they can, either in boxes, in frames or greenhouse,
or in the ground in the open. Under glass they
can usually be kept off by putting a sheet of
glass over the box or pot till germination takes

Sweet Peas

place, after which the danger is past. Out of
doors, if mice are about, the best safeguard is to
coat the seeds with red-lead before sowing. Then
neither mice nor birds will take them. The best
way to apply the red lead is to wet the seed and
then roll it among dry red-lead in a saucer or basin.

Birds of several kinds attack the young plants
in spring, and pinch out the growing buds. They
can be kept off by stretching several strands
of black thread or thin dark coloured twine along
the rows. Snails and slugs are fond of the soft
young growths and in moist weather in spring
feed on them with avidity. Dustings of soot and
lime are temporary preventives ; the only
effective one being to catch the depredators at
night with the aid of a lantern. In a wholesale
way many may be killed by dusting the ground
with freshly slaked lime on a mild night after
dark, when the slugs are out feeding.

There is a tendency on the part of some writers
to magnify troubles — the troubles that afflict
Sweet Peas as well as other things, but I hope
no one will be influenced against taking up the
culture of the most charming of all annual flowers
on that account. To me, and to my friends, the
culture of the Sweet Pea has presented fewer
difficulties than many another flower, and I am

Diseases and Insect Troubles

sure our experience is that of the great majority
who have taken, or will take up its culture. In
conclusion let me quote a few lines I wrote in 1909 :
" A charming American lady said of the great
Sweet Pea Show which filled every corner Qf the
Royal Horticultural Society's Hall in July last,
' It was an ocean of loveliness.' And so it was.
Those who have spent many years of their
lives in touch with the ocean know that the bays
and the creeks are quite the loveliest portions of
the mighty deep. Into these small areas there
seems to be poured twice a day the concentrated
grandeur and beauty of the ocean. Here we might
find a simile for our enthusiastic Sweet Pea
growers. They cannot have an ocean of loveliness
but they can have an estuary of loveliness all to
themselves. In their confined little gardens they
can have all the best things produced in the Sweet
Pea world. They can garner into their small
compounds the finest creations of the two hemi-
spheres, and get more joy and pleasure out of them
than if they had acres of them, or otherwise an
ocean of them, which they could only inspect
perfunctorily."

"Ask why God made the gem so small,

An* why so huge the granite ?
Because He meant mankind should set

The higher value on it." — Burns.

ANTIRRHINUMS

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION— DIFFERENT CLASSES

THE Antirrhinum attained to the dignity of a
florist's flower last century, and many named
varieties at one time existed which were all pro-
pagated by cuttings. Perhaps the most noted
named Antirrhinum that ever existed was Hen-
dersonii, sent out by Henderson & Son, London,
in 1851. It was a well-formed white ground
flower slightly shaded at the mouth with yellow
and beautifully edged all round with rosy red.

Antirrhinums can still be propagated by cuttings,
but the practice has fallen into disuse, the reason
being that strains of different colours and heights
have been so perfected that they breed almost
true from seed.

When cuttings are put in it is usually those
taken from some specially fine or distinct plant
which it is desirable to form the basis of a seed
selection with. It is undoubtedly the work of
the seed expert in the direction just indicated,
which is largely responsible for the extended

STRIPED OR OLD FLORIST'S ANTIRRHINUMS.

Introduction — Different Classes

culture and great popularity of the Antirrhinum
at the present time. One other influence also
must be recognised. In our great public parks,
and notably in the Royal Botanic Gardens at
Kew, the Antirrhinum has in recent years been
used in a masterly way. Glorious long continued
effects have been obtained by the use of this
simple, easily cultivated plant. In America, the
Antirrhinum has attained a popularity as a cut
flower for market, etc., that it has never obtained
in Britain, but its day may possibly come here
also. In America, special strains are grown
and selected for under-glass culture. The same
could be done in Britain if there was a demand
for them. It is only within the last few years
that Antirrhinums have been well shown in London,
and my own firm has led the way, obtaining a
gold medal from the Royal Horticultural Society
for a very fine group in 1914. Those who know
the standard of the Royal Horticultural Society
will at once realize that a group of cut snapdragons
must have been exceptionally good to obtain the
highest award of that distinguished Society.

The Royal Horticultural Society has carried
out several trials of Antirrhinums in their gardens
at Wisley. One in 1913 was an exceedingly
large and fine trial, over two hundred stocks being

Antirrhinums

grown. The seeds were sown on March i3th,
and when seedlings were large enough to handle
they were pricked out into boxes, and according
to the official report " later on planted out in
an open, sunny situation, on soil moderately
manured, and planted in rows eighteen inches
apart each way. All made excellent growth,
flowered profusely through the summer and autumn,
and gave a glorious mass of colour, which was
much admired by visitors."

Antirrhinums have hitherto, and are still,
classified according to their heights and colours.
As to height — it has been the practice to speak
of them as tall, nanum and dwarf or Tom Thumb.
I was to some extent responsible for getting the
term " nanum " discarded by the Royal Horti-
cultural Society, and the following decision was
recorded, " The Floral Committee recommended
that the Antirrhinum should be classed as Tall,
Medium and Dwarf (or Tom Thumb). It was
considered that the term ' nanum ' often used
for the medium section was misleading." Messrs.
Sutton adopt the term " Intermediate," which is
excellent — better even than "Medium," and I
hope to see it generally adopted.

The heights of the different sections vary some-
what on different soils and in different situations,

Introduction — Different Classes

but for the tall section thirty to thirty-six inches
is about right ; for the medium section, eighteen
to twenty-four inches, and for the dwarf or Tom
Thumb section, nine to twelve inches. These
heights are taken to the top of the average of

R FINE TYPE OF MEDIUM ANTIRRHINUM.

the flower spikes. The medium section is the
most useful one, and embraces the widest colour
range. The tall section is the one to which the
florists' varieties belonged, and hence up till now
has furnished the best formed individual flowers

Antirrhinums

and, as was to be expected, the longest spikes.
To this section belongs the famous strains of
Striped Antirrhinums so popular with amateurs
in the north of England and in Scotland. In a
great show like that of Glasgow, twenty to thirty
stands of these striped flowers are often seen, many
of the spikes carrying twenty or more perfectly
formed and beautifully marked flowers. To the
close observer it is interesting to study the
great variations in Antirrhinum foliage. As a
youngster I was taught to select those plants which
had the most beautifully marked, speckled and
spotted bottom leaves, as they were the most
likely to give the most beautifully speckled and
striped flowers. In growing batches of seedlings
for bedding, it is always wise at planting-out time
to throw away those plants which are not true
to type in foliage. Seed growers who attempt
to grow Antirrhinum seed in separate colours
find they must isolate the different varieties, i.e.,
grow them a long way apart from each other,
or the stocks would get hopelessly mixed by bees,
which are very fond of visiting Antirrhinums.
Who has not seen the big bee clinging to the
under lip of the flowers and pushing for all he
is worth till he gets his head right into the mouth
of the flower, then two-thirds of his entire bodv

Introduction — Different Classes

disappears into the cavity, to be withdrawn
backwards covered with pollen. It is pointed out
by Muller that the fast closure of the mouth of
the Antirrhinum flower is most useful to the
plant. Were it otherwise, small bees and other
insects would enter the flower and use up the honey,
thus withdrawing the attraction which brought
about the visits of the larger bees which alone
are useful in the accomplishment of cross-fertiliz-
ation. These smaller bees are not however
always done out of a share of the nectar, because
they often bore small round holes at the base of
the flower and get access to it in this way. If the
visits of bees can be prevented, the flowers at the
base of the spike remain longer in condition, and
thus a longer spike of bloom is obtained for exhibi-
tion purposes. The amateurs in the west of Scotland
achieve this by placing an oblong box over the spike,
sometimes with a glass front half of the way down,
and this prevents bees visiting the flowers. In
this connection an interesting scientific fact
emerges. Bees visiting spikes of Antirrhinums
begin at the bottom flower and work upwards.
Transferring their attention to the next spike
they carry on their back masses of pollen from
the topmost flower of the spike last visited to the
bottom flower of the next one, and this pollen

Antirrhinums

is exactly in position to come in contact with
the stigma. This brings about cross-fertilization
very effectively in many c£,ses ; even if the stigma
has recently been selfed, the pollen brought by
the bee from another plant is likely to be pre-

DWARF OR TOM THUMB ANTIRRHINUM.

potent. I find the anthers and stigma of the
Antirrhinum mature simultaneously.

It is the duty of every up-to-date seedsman
and nurseryman to observe the signs of the times
in the horticultural world, and if possible endeavour
to anticipate floral fashions and fancies. The

100

Introduction— Bif-ere at Gasses

history of many flowers — their rise to heights of
popularity and their decline again — reads like
romance. The Antirrhinum is undoubtedly on
the up-grade at present. It is never likely to
cause a furore like the Sweet Pea, but its great
usefulness is certain to become more and more
appreciated.

" Beauties that from worth arise,
Are like the grace of deities."

101

CHAPTER II
CULTURE

THE culture of the Antirrhinum presents no real
difficulties. It is by nature a perennial, but the
best results are obtained by treating it as a
biennial, or even as an annual. If only a com-
paratively few plants are required, they can be
bought from a florist or nurseryman at planting
time, in April or May, but as it adds a tenfold
charm to one's plants to raise them from seed, I
give instructions for doing so. First — treating the
plant as an Annual, seed must be sown in January
or early February in a heated greenhouse, and
there is no better plan than sowing in a box, three
or four inches deep, filled with a free compost.
The seeds being very small must not be covered
deeply — a sifting of fine soil one-sixteenth of an
inch deep over them is enough. The boxes should
be well-watered before the seeds are sown and a
sheet of glass placed over them after sowing, and
shaded till germination takes place. When the
plants are large enough to handle, they should

102

Culture

be transplanted into other boxes filled as before,
grown on in same temperature for a week or two
and then gradually hardened. About the first
week of April transplant into cold frames into
which has been worked some thoroughly old
dung, leaf mould or spent hops. There the plants
will form dense tufts of roots. Lift carefully
and plant out where they are to bloom in May.
Such plants will begin flowering in July and will
often continue until November.

As A BIENNIAL. — Sow the seeds in boxes or in a
frame in July. When plants are large enough,
transplant three inches apart into another frame
in which they should be wintered and planted out
in March. Two hints here may be helpful. When
transplanting into frame, if weather is brilliant,
careful shading will be required for a few days,
as a few hours' brilliant sunshine through the glass
will scorch or destroy the plants. As soon as the
plants are established they will not require the
sashes over them, and in winter they ought to
get plenty of air always, the object being to rear
hard, stubby plants. In many districts where
the soil is free seedling Antirrhinums winter well
out of doors. If this is the intention, the seeds
should be sown at the end of May or early June,
transplanted as already recommended and

103

Antirrhinums

planted out into beds in September. If any
of the plants show flower stems, these should be
pinched out. In favourable districts all the
plants will stand the winter and produce beautiful
spikes of bloom from the end of May onwards.
The July sown plants wintered in frames will
bloom towards the end of June. To ensure in
every case a continued bloom, it is necessary to
remove the spikes when finished flowering, as
the production of seed soon exhausts the plants.
In all cases where Antirrhinums are required
for bedding, it is a good plan to pinch off the
top of the main shoot when three or four inches
tall to induce a bushy branching habit. If long
spikes of bloom are required for exhibition work,
or conservatory decoration, the plants must not
be pinched.

FOR CONSERVATORY. — Select from summer sow-
ing nice plants, and pot them in September
into small pots; grow on in a cold greenhouse;
move into larger pots in January, and shift again
in March into five or six inch pots, in which they
will flower beautifully in April and May. Under
glass, the spikes will be found to elongate more
than they do out of doors, but the beauty is
enhanced by the colours being so pure and clean.

It is hardly necessary to enlarge on the culture
104

Culture

in the garden, because those who have seen snap-
dragons growing and flowering gaily on the top
of old walls and in other out of the way places
know how accommodating they are. In beds of
all sizes and shapes they may be grown, in lines
in borders, where they are most effective if the
colours are nicely blended ; in clumps of half-a-
dozen plants of the same variety in mixed borders
they are happy. A free, well-drained soil suits
them best, if slightly calcareous so much the better
and it should be firm. What Antirrhinums do
not like is fresh manure, and where they are
not happy is in a wet or boggy soil. They want
the sunlight and they want their "feet" dry after
they are established.

105

CHAPTER III
BEST VARIETIES

IT is always an exceedingly difficult thing for one
who is a raiser of new varieties of flowers to write
about the best varieties in a quite unbiassed
manner. One naturally has a predilection for
one's own creations, and is apt to see points in
their favour where the margin of justification
is rather small. That being so I will put before
my readers the findings of the Royal Horticul-
tural Society. I have already alluded to the
splendid trial of Antirrhinums which that Society
had at^Wisley in 1913. The best varieties in
commerce were contributed by the leading
wholesale and retail firms who specialize in
Antirrhinums. Glancing through the list, I
find such names as Messrs. Watkins & Simpson
and Messrs. Hurst & Son, leading wholesale seed
merchants, and among the better-known retail
firms are Messrs. James Veitch & Son, Messrs.
R. Veitch & Son, Messrs. Dickson & Robinson,
Messrs. Barr & Sons, Messrs. Dobbie & Co. , Messrs.
Bath, Mr. F. C. Heinemann, Messrs. Daniels,

106

Best Varieties

Messrs. Simpson, Messrs. Sydenham and Messrs.
Carter. Out of the two hundred and seven stocks
sent in for trial, which were carefully observed
during the whole period of their growth, the
following were selected as the best. The same
variety was in many cases contributed by several
different firms, and I suggest that the buyer should
place himself to some extent in the hands of his
seedsman — for all the leading seedsmen now
offer collections of Antirrhinums — and order the
varieties he fancies either from the following
list or from the seedsman's catalogue, putting
stress on the varieties being true to colour and
type. It must be like all other transactions
in the seed trade, a question of confidence and
dependence on the firm one is dealing with.
Nothing is more disappointing and aggravating
than to lose a season or spoil a bedding display
with a wrong colour.

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY'S LIST OF THE

BEST ANTIRRHINUMS

(Vide Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society,

Vol. xxxix., Part 3, April, 1914)

TALL SECTION

Name Colout

Beauty - Crimson.

Moonlight - Reddish apricot.

107

Antirrhinums

Name

Queen Victoria -
Salmon Pink
Yellow King

MEDIUM
Amber Queen -
Beacon
Bonfire

Carmine Queen
Coccineum -
Crimson King -
Daphne
Defiance -
Fire King -
Golden Morn -
Golden Queen -
Maize Queen
Pink

Rosy Morn
Sunset

White Beauty -
White Queen -
Yellow
Yellow Queen -

Colour

- White.

- Rose.

- Yellow.

SECTION
Yellow and rose.
Vermilion red.
Coral red and rose.
Carmine.
Fiery red.
Crimson.
Rosy carmine.
Fire red.
Cherry red and orange.

• Yellow and rose.

• Yellow.

• Yellow and rose.

• Rosy carmine.

- Rose pink.

• Dull garnet and yellow.

- White.

- Yellow.

Another most useful work done by the Royal
Horticultural Society, although it was not set

108

Best Varieties

forth in great prominence in its Journal, was the
grouping together of varieties which were con-
sidered to be very much alike, thus : —

1 Beacon.

Defiance.

{Buff Queen.

Daybreak.

Flame.

Maize Queen.

Fire King.

Coccineum.

Golden Fairy.

Aurora.

Scarlet Flame.

Dainty Queen.

Firefly.

Vesuvius.

Scarlet Beauty.

Brilliant Vermil-

ion Scarlet.

IRosy Morn. /Queen of the.

(Avalanche.

Phyllis. North.

White Queen.

Pink Queen. . I Mont Blanc.

Snowflake.

Rose Dore. | The Bride.

Roseum Superbum. White Beauty.

[Daphne.

IWhite.

iPerle d' Amour.

1 Cottage Maid.

Outside the clear self-colours such as white,
yellow, primrose, carmine, pink and crimson, I
am personally in favour of those varieties which
bring tints of bronze, chamois and yellow into
their composition. Amber Queen and Maize
Queen are very charming, and so is Dainty Queen
(salmon buff with yellow lip). The two former
received awards of merit from the Royal
Horticultural Society in 1913.

Another type of flower which fascinates many,
is represented by Nobile. The flowers are white
with dark crimson lip, and either on the plant,
or cut and put in a vase, they are most distinct

Antirrhinums

and effective. In Daphne, the colours are almost
reversed, the flowers being pale carmine, and
the lip white. Both Nobile and Daphne were
honoured in the Royal Horticultural trials.

Outside the self-coloured varieties in the Tall
Section, a note should be made of Cottage Maid,
a beautiful combination of pink and white;
Fairy Queen, orange suffused rose with white
tube ; Moonlight, apricot suffused rose with yellow
lip, and Coral Red, deep rose-red with yellow-
tipped lip.

DWARF OR TOM THUMB VARIETIES

The Tom Thumb varieties are simply known
by their colours, thus: Tom Thumb White-
Golden — Crimson — Rose, and so on. It was
formerly difficult and almost impossible to obtain
these true to colour and type, but now most of
the leading seed houses offer reliable strains.

112

INDEX

PAGE

Anthers . . . . . . . . t , .. 83

Antirrhinum, Best Varieties 107

Antirrhinum, Cuttings . . . . . . . . 92

Antirrhinum, Different Classes . . . . 96

Antirrhinum, for Conservatory . . . . 104

Antirrhinum Hendersonii . . , . . . 92

" Audrey Crier " 85

Bacteria — nodule forming . . . . . . 87

Bamboos . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Bees and Antirrhinums . . . . . . . . 98

Bicentenary Celebration . . . . . . n

Birds, Protection from . . . . . . . . 22, 90

Burpee, W. Atlee, & Co. , 76

Carter, James & Co. . . . . . . . . 12

Chipping Seeds . . . . . . . . . . 26

Classes of Antirrhinums . . . . . . . . 96

Clumps . . . . . . . . . . 19, 21, 23

Cole, Silas 16, 78

" Countess Spencer " 16, 78

Cross-fertilizing . . . . . . . . . . 80

Dobbie, James 56

Eckford, Henry 13, 78

Experts 66, 72

Flowers, Number of in Vase . . . . . . 58

Flowers, When to Cut . . . . . . . . 57

Index

PAGE

Foliage . . . . . . . . . , . . 63

Foliage of Antirrhinums . . . . . . . . 98

Glass, Culture under . . . . . . . . 38

Green-fly . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Harvesting Seed . . . . . . . . . . 72, 75

Heterozygotes . . . . . . . . . . 85

Home of Wild Sweet Pea n

Homozygotes . . . . . . . . . . 85

Ireland, Andrew . . . . . . . . . . 86

Kew, Antirrhinums at . . . . . . . . 95

Lathyrus odoratus . . . . . . . . n

Laxton, Thomas . . . . . . . . . . 12

Lime 19, 22

Malcolm, Alexander . . . . . . . . 87

Manure . . . . . . . . . . . . 17, 74

Manure, Artificial . . . . . . . . 36

Manure, Liquid . . . . . . . . . . 34

Mendel . . . . . . . . . . . . n, 83

Mice 89

Morse, C. C., & Co. . . . . . . . . 73

Mutation, Waved Type a . . . . . . 15

National Sweet Pea Society . . 12, 46, 58, 86, 88

Netting, " Simplicitas " . . . . . . 23

Netting, Wire . . ... . . . . . . 23

Pinching . . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 30

Planting . . . . . . ..... . . 20, 30

Red-lead . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Rogueing 72,75

Royal Horticultural Society and Antirrhinums . .95, 106

114

Index

PAGE

San Francisco . . . . . . . . . . 73

Seed, Growing in California . . . . . . 73

Seed, Growing in Essex . . . . . . . . 70

Seed, Harvesting . . . . . . . . . . 72, 75

Seed, for Stock . . . . . . . . . . 72

Seed, Sowing . . . . . . . . . . 19, 25

Seed, Yield per Acre . . . . . . . . 75

Soap, Soft \ . .. . . . . . . 89

Soil Preparation . . . . . . . . 17, 36

Sowing Antirrhinums . . . . . . . . 102

Slugs 22, 90

Spencer or Waved Type, Origin of . . . . 15, 78

Staging 60

Staking . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Streak Disease 86, 88

Sydenham, Robert . . . . . . . . 16, 78

Temperature under Glass . . . . . . 42

Tendrils . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Thinning . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Tom Thumb Antirrhinums . . . . . . 112

Trenching .... . . . . . . . . 17, 36

Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Varieties for Culture under Glass . . . . 45

Varieties for Exhibition . . . . . . . . 46

Varieties for Market . . . . . . . . 52

Varieties for Table Decoration . . . . . . 55

Vases for Flowers . . . . . . . . 60

Watering 29, 34, 41

Winter-flowering Sweet Peas . . . . . . 38

Wire Netting . . . . . . . . . . 23

Wire Trainers . . . . . . . . . . 22

Notes re Varieties

116

Notes re Varieties

117

Notes re Culture

118

Notes re Culture

119

NATIONAL SWEET PEA SOCIETY

President for 1920

Treasurer
MR. EDWARD SHERWOOD

It is the duty of every true lover of Sweet Peas
to support the National Sweet Pea Society, which,
for the last fifteen years, has done such excellent
work for the flower.

Two ways of giving support are open ;—

FIRST — by becoming a personal member at the
minimum subscription of Five Shillings per
annum.

SECOND— by the local Society to which one belongs
becoming an Affiliated Society. There are
at present over 100 Affiliated Societies,
indicating that the privileges obtained are
valuable and appreciated.

Full particulars regarding Membership and
Affiliation to be had on application to —

HENRY D. TIGWELL, Secretary, N.S.P.S.,
HARROW VIEW, GREENFORD, MIDDLESEX.

HEAOLEY BROS.. A8MFORO~. KENT. » 18 DEVONSHIRE ST., E.C.t.

14 DAY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

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or on the date to which renewed. Renewals only:

Tel. No. 642-3405

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LD21A-50m-2,'71
(P2001slO)476 — A-32

General Library

University of California

Berkeley

YB 48574

IVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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Full text of "Sweet peas and antirrhinums (snapdragons)"

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