186 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE!, 



CHAPTER VIII. 



LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 



THE PEA (Pisum sativum.) 



The pea, the bean, the tare, vetch, lupine, the clovers, &c. 

 are all embraced in the botanical order Leguminosce. The 

 pea is valuable for cultivation not only for the table, but for 

 many of the domestic animals. It is much fed to swine, 

 sheep and poultry. For the former, it should be soaked, 

 boiled or ground. If land is adapted to it, few crops can be 

 more profitably raised for their use. They ripen early, and 

 when beginning to harden they may be fed with the vines, 

 and the animals will masticate the whole and soon fatten. 



THE SOIL. The heaviest clays will bear good peas, but 

 a calcareous or wheat soil is better. Strong lands produce 

 the best crops, but these should be made so by manures pre- 

 viously applied, as the addition of such as are fresh increa- 

 ses the growth of haulm or straw and sometimes diminishes 

 both the quantity and quality of the pea. When sown on a 

 thin sward, the manure should be spread before plowing. A 

 dressing of well rotted manure increases the crop and is a 

 good preparation when intended to be followed by wheat. 



VARIETIES. Of these there are many. The earlier 

 kinds are generally indifferent bearers and their cultivation 

 is limited almost exclusively to the garden. Of those for 

 field culture, the marrow-fat are preferred for good lands, 

 nnd are a rich pea. The small yellow are perhaps the best 

 for poorer soils. There is a very prolific bush-pea grown in 

 Georgia, bearing pods six or seven inches long, which hang 

 in clusters on a short upright stem. The pods are filled 

 with a white pea, which is highly esteemed for the table, 

 either green or dry. In that latitude they bear two or three 

 crops in one season. 



CULTIVATION. Peas should have a clean fallow, or fresh, 

 rich sod well harrowed. They are not affected by frosts 



