Raising Vegetablks for Canning 1571 



ingredients with very good results. It is better to apply these substances 

 separately, and they should never be mixed together any length of time 

 before they are used. A eommereial fertilizer suital^le for this crop should 

 contain one per cent nitrogen, from six to eight per cent phosphoric acid, 

 and from five to seven per cent potash, and should be broadcasted at the 

 rate of from three hundred and fifty to five hundred pounds per acre. In 

 some cases where the soil was very rich, a half-and-half mixture of potash 

 and phosj)horic acid broadcasted at the rate of from four hundred to 

 five hundred pounds per acre has given good results. 



Inoculation. — The inoculation of soil to which leguminous plants are 

 not native or on which they grow only in a limited way, has been found 

 to produce an increased number of nodules on the pea roots, but no very 

 striking benefit to the pea crop itself. However, the benefit comes to 

 the crop following the peas. Inoculation of the soil for peas may be tested 

 on a limited area, by the same method as that used for clover, alfalfa, or 

 other legumes. 



Varieties. — For canning, Alaska is one of the most common early 

 varieties, though it is not of high quality. Good sorts maturing a little 

 later than Alaska are Surprise, Gradus, Thomas Laxton, McLean's Ad- 

 vancer, Duke of Albany, and British Wonder; good late maturing varieties 

 are French Canner (Petit Pais), Everbearing, Champion of England, 

 Telephone, Stratagem, and Carter's Daisy, or Dwarf Telephone. For 

 a succession, Alaska could be j^lanted first, followed by vSurprise, Thomas 

 Laxton, and Duke of Albany. There are many other sorts good for can- 

 ning, and it is recommended that they be tested whenever practicable. 



Good pea seed, which is essential to the production of a good crop, may 

 be bought from growers or seedsmen whose pea seed is produced in New 

 York, New England, other northern states, or Canada. As a rule, pea seed 

 produced in the northern sections of the United States and in Canada 

 is to be preferred to seed produced in the southern part of the United 

 States. Seed from reliable seedsmen who have made a specialty of certain 

 varieties should be bought in preference to the ordinary run. 



Time and methods cj planting. — The time for planting peas will vary 

 somewhat according to the locality and the variety selected, but the gen- 

 eral rule is to plant them as soon as the soil is in condition in the spring, 

 which generally means from April 20 to May 15 in this State. 



Peas should be planted from one and one-half to two inches deep. If 

 they are planted three or four or more inches deep, it is likely that the 

 small seeds will be unable to thrust stalks and leaves through this amount 

 of soil and make the proper growth. Sometimes nature will overcome 

 this difficulty, but if it is desired to plant peas three or four inches deep, 

 the following method may be used: Sow the peas in a trench three or 



