424 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



This promises to be of especial value for the home garden, as the length 

 of edible maturity is much prolonged by the vines still continuing to bloom 

 when the first pods are edible. 



Class III. — Half dwarf varieties, two to four feet high. Peas smooth 

 or indented; white or cream; pods straight or nearly so. Stratagem will 

 represent this class. 



Alpha, from D. M. Ferry & Co., grew rather spindling vines that setmed 

 to be rather easily affected by dry weather. 



The pods were numerous, of good size and shape, but not well filled. 

 The peas were fair size, plump, tender, and contained a medium amount 

 of sugar. 



Eclipse, introduced by Vaughan. 



Vines are strong, of medium size, and well covered with dark- colored 

 foliage. Pods are short, plump, and very even, nearly all maturing at 

 once. Peas round, plump, tender and sweet. 



Epicure's Delight, introduced by Salzer. A very quick growing variety, 

 with medium-sized vines. 



The vines are dark green in color, appear to be strong and hardy and 

 produce a large amount of broad pods, tapering from the stipules to about 

 the center, and blunt at the apex. Peas large, of irregular round shape, 

 sweet and tender. 



Orion grew medium sized, light colored vines well set with pods that 

 contained comparatively few peas. The pcds were pointed at both base and 

 apex and contained a few peas of medium quality. 



Class IV. — Vines dwarf; seeds green, bluish green, white or cream 

 colored; seeds shriveled; pods straight or nearly so. 



First and Best from Ferry, was the first to reach edible maturity. The 

 vines were of medium size, strong growers, but began to die as soon as 

 the peas reached edible maturity, thus shortening the length of their use- 

 fulness. Pods are plump, regular shape and well filled with large peas 

 that seem to have a rather tough skin; flavor good. A good early variety, 

 which can be taken as the type of this class. 



Scorcher, received from Salzer, is an early quick grower, with straight 

 pods of good size, well filled with peas of high quality. The vines are of 

 medium size, branch close to the ground, and the well-filled pods are borne 

 abundantly. Peas are of medium size, tender, and of good quality for an 

 extra early variety. 



POTATOES, 1897. 



The experimental plot for potatoes. was located on the north side of the 

 garden; a part of it was used for potatoes in 1896, the balance being a 

 turned under strawberry bed. 



The soil is rather diversified, ranging from a black loam, mixed with 

 quicksand to a light sand with a clay subsoil, but the plots were so arranged 

 that the test was a fair one. Although the seed was treated with corrosive 

 sublimate solution (1-2000), the crop of tubers showed more scab than last 

 year, especially on the portion where potatoes had been previously grown. 

 The weather furnished the proper conditions for the development of the 

 scab germs, and had the seed not been thoroughly disinfected the loss would 

 probably have been much greater. 



A heavy coating of finely composted manure was plowed under in the 

 fall and the land was replowed in the spring and finely pulverized with the 

 Acme harrow and rolled, which placed the soil in a fine tilth for the young 

 plants. 



