142 BREEDING 



vations made by Mendel can be repeated by any- 

 one who has, or can obtain the use of, a few square 

 yards of ground ; the expenses in addition to this 

 are trifling, and amount to no more than the few 

 shillings which will buy the seeds and the pea -sticks. 

 And anyone who has a kitchen garden, and room to 

 spare in it, can contribute new results of great value 

 with very little extra outlay. 



The following directions are based on six years' 

 experience in my own garden. 



It is desirable that the ground in which peas are 

 to be grown should be deeply dug in the autumn 

 before the spring in which the seeds are to be sown. 

 My own ground was dug two spits deep, and an 

 ample quantity of farmyard dung incorporated with 

 the bottom and with the top spit. If the land is at 

 all clayey, it should be well limed ; but if it is coarse, 

 open and sandy, chalk should be used instead of lime. 

 During the digging a sharp eye should be kept open 

 for wire worms (the larvae of the skipjack beetle); 

 for if many of these are left in the ground they will 

 play havoc amongst the seedlings in the spring. It 

 is well to remind those who are not familiar with 

 wireworms that they are very tough, and that it 

 is therefore necessary to pull them in two, to make 

 certain that they are destroyed. 



The first week in March is the earliest date at 

 which it is advisable to sow the seed ; for even when 

 seed is sown at this time the seedlings do not begin 

 to break through the ground until the beginning of 

 April. The chief enemies of the swollen seeds, before 



