THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



153 



January, and tlien for the main crop 

 of early peas sow any time from the 

 1st of February to the 1st of March, 

 accordintr to the weather and your 

 opportunity. These, with the Empe- 

 ror, average three feet high. 



To succeed these early sorts, the 

 Blue Scimitar, British Queen, and 

 Bishop's Long Pod are the best ; and, 

 by timing the sowings, these may be 

 brought to table regularly from May 

 to November ; but there are multi- 

 tudes of other sorts for the summer 

 and autumn supply, of which I may 

 name, as first-rate in quality. Bed- 

 man's Imperial, a delicious pea, which 

 grows only two and a half feet high ; 

 Burbidge's Eclipse, twenty inches ; 

 Hingwood Marrow, four to five feet ; 

 Woodford Marrow, three feet ; and 

 Knight's Dwarf Green, a splendid sort, 

 three feet. Hair's Dwarf Mammoth 

 is a new pea of high merit, four feet 

 high, and produces splendid pods. 



The following excellent mode of 

 growing early peas was recommended 

 by Mr. Bishop, in the pages of the 

 Gardeners Chronicle : — 



" In the last week of January, cut 



some turf in strips of three inches in 



width, the length depending on the 



width of the hotbed in which they are 



to be placed. Lay the pieces of turf 



in the frame, grass downwards, close 



together ; then make in the centre of 



each piece of turf, by pressing it with 



the edge of a board, a drill, in which 



sow the peas, which soon come up ; 



and then take the lights entirely oft" in 



the day-time, unless very cold, and 



shut them down at night. Keep them 



close till the beginning of March. 



When the peas are to be planted in 



the border, lift the box entirely oft", 



and the strips of turf, in which the 



peas will be well-rooted, and place 



them on a hand-bai'row, and take them 



to the border for planting, which do 



in a drill cut so deep that they shall 



be about an inch lower than they 



were in the box. It may be necessary 



to protect them from frost and cool 



winds at first, and this may be done 



by puttin,^ some short sticks along the 



rows, and laying some long litter or 



cuttings of evergreens over them." 



On very open ground, where at- 

 tention can be given them, the tall 



marrows are very profitable, and pro- 

 duce enormous pods for a great length 

 of time, but they are utterly unfit for 

 SQiall gardens, though we often see 

 them doing but poorly in such places, 

 for people will plant them on account 

 of their large size and fine flavour ; 

 and the}^ are among the number of 

 tilings of which seed is frequently 

 given awaj'' by friends, who insist on 

 having others try them, too often 

 without properly considering if they 

 have the space at their command which 

 they require. Knight's Tall JMarrow 

 and the Mammoth Tall GreenMarrow, 

 are the best of the class. 



In selecting sorts, it may be borne 

 in mind that the dwarf kinds take up 

 less room, may be sown closer together 

 from row to row, scarcely requu'e 

 sticking, and are the best for poor 

 ground, while they occasion the least 

 trouble, and give no shadow to preju- 

 dice other things. Dwarf kinds should 

 be from two to three feet apart, the 

 latter distance for the main crops ; but 

 taller sorts must be at least four 

 or five feet apart, and the tallest eight 

 or nine, for at less distances the air 

 cannot circulate freely amongst them, 

 and they get drawn and sickly. In all 

 ordinary sowings the seed should be 

 put an inch deep for the earliest, and 

 an inch and a halffor main crops ; and 

 as waste of seed is waste of money, 

 and no gain in the crop, set dwarfs 

 two in an inch, middle-sized vax'ieties 

 three in two inches, and the largest 

 a full inch apart. The best arrange- 

 ment for the rows is north and south, 

 when they are all together in one 

 compartment, and then the sticks 

 should be placed alternately on each 

 side of the row. When they are 

 grown at large distances, which is 

 always best, they may run from east 

 to west, and then the sticks should be 

 put on the south side of each row. 

 During dry weather in summer, it is 

 best to soak the drill the night before 

 sowing, and at the same time put the 

 seed in water to soak till the morning. 

 In gathering peas it should be remem- 

 bered that they produce one fourth 

 more if the pods are clipped ofi" with 

 scissors ; the usual way of lugging and 

 tugging at them is very destructive, 

 and only pardonable in field culture. 



