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227 



are they as hardy in resisting the adverse conditions of 

 early spring. On account of the latter reason, gardeners 

 plant the round seed first in the spring, and do not plant 

 the wrinkled kinds until the soil is in the best condition 

 and somewhat warm. The wrinkled kinds are better in 

 quality than the round and smooth varieties. Peas hav- 

 ing edible pods are not popular in this country, probably 

 because of the ease with which string beans are grown. 



Culture. Peas may be grown 

 successfully in almost any good 

 soil ; they even do well on rather 

 poor soil. The kinds having 

 smooth seeds should be plant- 

 ed as soon as the ground can 

 be worked in the spring even 

 a hard freeze does not hurt the 

 plants as they are coming out 

 of the ground, and they will 

 stand considerable frost when 

 well up.' The distances between 

 the rows and the seeds in the 

 row depend somewhat on the 

 kinds grown. Some kinds branch 

 out far more than others, and, 

 consequently need more room 

 in the row. They also vary 

 in length of stem from a few 

 inches to six or seven feet. The tall kinds require the 

 rows to be five or six feet apart, while dwarf varieties are 

 generally planted in rows thirty inches to three feet apart. 

 The growing of tall kinds is confined mostly to private 

 gardens, where it is customary to use brush or other ma- 

 terial in the rows for support. Formerly among tall 



Fig. 94. Nott's Excelsior pea. 



