Garden Pea 



petition, and Peas may be said to go to the dinner table at retail 

 and not at wholesale price. Moreover, high quality is of import- 

 ance, and here the domestic as distinguished from the commercial 

 gardener has an immense advantage, for well-grown ' Garden Peas ' 

 surpass in beauty and flavour the best market samples procurable. 

 To produce these fine Peas there must be plenty of space allowed 

 between the rows, and it will be found good practice to grow Peas 

 and early Potatoes on the same plot, and to put short sticks to the 

 Peas as soon as they are forward enough. By this management the 

 first top-growth of the Potatoes may be saved from the late May frosts, 

 and the Peas will give double the crop of a crowded plantation. As 

 regards the time of sowing, seasons and climates must be considered. 

 Nothing is gained by sowing main-crop Peas so early as to subject 

 the plant to a conflict with frost. It should be understood that 

 the finest sorts of Peas are somewhat tender in constitution, and the 

 wrinkled sorts are more tender than the round. Hence, in any case, 

 the wrinkled seeds should be sown rather more thickly than the 

 round, to allow for losses ; but robust-habited Peas should never be 

 sown so thickly as the early sorts, for every plant needs room to 

 branch and spread, and gather sunshine by means of its leaves for 

 the ultimate production of superb Green Peas. The months of 

 March, April, May, and June are the times for sowing main crops of 

 Peas. After June early sorts may be sown again, and will require 

 more than ordinary care to insure profitable results. Late sowings 

 should be kept as cool as possible by screening them from the sun, 

 for the young plant cannot endure the direct power of solar light. 



On the first appearance of the plant, a slight dusting of lime 

 or soot will render the rising buds distasteful to slugs and sparrows, 

 but this is more needful for the early than the later crops. When 

 main-crop Peas have grown two or three inches, they are pretty safe 

 against the small marauders. It is of importance to stake them early 

 and well, the size and strength of the sticks being, as a matter of 

 course, proportioned to the habit of the variety. Before putting 

 sticks, earth the rows up carefully, and the advantage will be under- 

 stood in the event of hot dry weather setting in. We advise the use 

 of sticks, for at a reasonable cost they more than pay their way. 

 But the very dwarf kinds do well, and yield abundantly, if allowed 

 to grow without any support whatever. A little extra care is required 

 in gathering the crop from Peas that are not staked, and young 

 gardeners may be advised not to handle the haulm roughly, or it 

 will result in the destruction of many plants in their prime. The 



99 H2 



