40 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Pea continued. 

 King of the Marrows. Wrinkled green Marrow. Pods 



generally in pairs, broad, from 2in. to Sin. long, containing from 



six to eiyht large, oblong peas, h, 6ft. to 6Jft. One of the very 



latest and tallest-growing sorts. 

 Kaclean's Best of AIL Wrinkled green Marrow. Pods 



E reduced in pairs, over Sin. long, broad, gradually narrowed at 

 oth ends. They contain from five to eight large peas in each, 

 but are not regularly filled, h. about 3ft. A rather late sort, 

 productive, and of good quality. 



Ne Pins Ultra.* Wrinkled green Marrow. Pods nearly 

 always in pairs, fine dark glaucous green, curved, narrowed 

 towards the stalk ; peas very large, from seven to nine in a 

 pod, of first-rate quality, h. from 6ft. to 7ft. An abundant 

 bearer, and one of the best late Peas in cultivation. 



Omega (Laxton's).* Wrinkled green Marrow. Pods usually in 

 pairs, long, narrow, very closely filled with from eight to ten very 

 large, dark green peas, of excellent quality, h. about 2ft. Very 

 prolific. This might be termed a dwarf NE PLUS ULTRA. 



Prizetakcr Green Marrow. Smooth, green-seeded Marrow. 

 Pods nearly 3in. long, slightly curved, of a deep bluish-green, 

 covered with thick bloom. Each pod contains from six to ten 

 large peas, which become misshapen from being compressed. 

 h. 5ft. to 5ft. 



Sturdy (Laxton's).* Wrinkled green Marrow. Pods produced 

 in pairs, long, nearly straight, containing from six to nine large, 

 dark green peas, of excellent quality, h. about 3ft. One of the 

 latest sorts, robust, strong growing, much branched. 



EDIBLE-PODDED on SUGAR PEAS. All the sorts of 

 Peas that have been already noticed are grown in 

 gardens, principally for the use of their prodnce in a 

 young or green state. They are termed Shelling Peas, 

 and the poda are of no use when once their contents 

 are extracted, because they are lined with a hard and 

 tough, stringy membrane, which renders them unfit for 

 food. In the other class, now under notice, the pods 

 are usually destitute of this stringy substance, and 

 readily snap, like those of Kidney Beans. If prepared 

 and cooked, when young, in a similar way to the last- 

 named vegetable, they are considered to form an excel- 

 lent dish, one which is more appreciated on the Con- 

 tinent than in this country. Edible-podded Peas are 

 not much cultivated in Britain ; not so extensively, 

 perhaps, as their merits deserve. Subjoined are the 

 names of a few sorts. 



Butter Pea. Pods from 2in. to 2Jin. long, produced singly, and 

 in pairs, deeply curved ; the sides are very fleshy, thick, and 

 succulent, h. 3ft. to 4ft. 



Dwarf Dutch. Pods often solitary, narrow, crooked, thick, and 

 fleshy ; seeds white, large, from five to seven in a pod. A very 

 dwarf variety. 



Early Dwarf Brittany.* Pods generally in pairs, about 2in. 

 long, narrow, fleshy, quite free from membrane, h. about 

 2m. 



Forty Days' Edible-Podded. Pods generally in pairs, straight, 

 free from membrane ; peas medium-sized, slightly compressed, 

 white when ripe. h. about 4ft. A climbing variety, which pro- 

 duces its flowers over a long period. 



Giant Sugar Pea.* Pods sometimes 6in. in length, larger than 

 those of any variety of this class, much twisted ; peas large, 

 distinctly seen from the outside of the pod. h. 4ft. to 5ft. Should 

 be used when young. 



Large Crooked Sugar Pea.* Pods very large, sometimes 5in. 

 long, broad, often crooked, free from membrane, and exceedingly 

 tender when young, h. about 5ft. One of the best sorts, more 

 extensively grown than any of the others. 



FTJNGI. The Fungi parasitic on Peas are chiefly two 

 species, which resemble each other in forming whitish 

 coatings on the leaves and other parts of the plants ; 

 but they are not difficult to distinguish, even with the 

 unaided eye. In both, the whitish coat is formed of 

 rows of cells, forming threads too slender to be seen 

 distinctly, even with a lens. Both belong to the forms 

 included under the general name of Mildew (which 

 see) ; but they represent widely different groups of 

 Fungi. Erysiphe Martii (Pea Mildew) is the commoner 

 of the two. It possesses conidia of the type described 

 under Oidiuni and also spores in asci which lie in the 

 perithecia. The plants are, at times, wholly covered 

 with this Fungus, and the result is stoppage of their 

 growth, and loss of the seeds. Unfortunately, this 



Pea continued. 



Fungus grows on many other plants also, so that it can 

 hardly be exterminated from gardens. Peronospora Vicice 

 (Pea Mould) is more plentiful on Tares than on Peas. On 

 both, it grows on the lower surface of the leaves ; and 

 it differs from the Pea Mildew in sending its filaments 

 through the Pea's tissues, thus living inside the host- 

 plant. It differs also in the reproductive processes. The 

 conidia are of the kind described under Peronospora; 

 and so also are the resting, or sexually mature, spores. 

 The latter are formed within the tissues of the Peas, 

 and serve to reproduce the Fungus in the following 

 spring. Plants attacked by this Fungus are pierced by 

 it in all directions, though only the branches that bear 

 conidia are to be seen on the outer surface of the 

 host-plant. The diseased tissues become brown, and 

 ultimately rotten, and fall to pieces. P. Vicice appears 

 in early summer ; it attacks many leguminous plants. 

 Remedies should be directed rather to insure prevention 

 of injury to subsequent crops than in trying to save 

 those plants already diseased. All refuse, especially Pea 

 stalks, and other rubbish of that nature, must be collected 

 and burned, to prevent the diseases being transmitted by 

 such means from the crop of one year to that of the 

 next. The remedies recommended under Mildew and 

 Oidium would help to check Pea Mildew (which is quite 

 superficial in its growth), but would not be of any use 

 for Pea Mould. 



Peas, along with Beans and Vetches, are also subject 

 to the attacks of Pea and Bean Bust (Vromyces appen- 

 diculatus, var. Pisi). Plants diseased from this cause 

 assume a dull, rusty-brown hue, which, in bad attacks, 

 may almost conceal the green of the leaves, but usually 

 only modifies it more or less. This colour is due to very 

 numerous, small, rust-coloured spots, distributed over the 

 surface, none of them usually exceeding ,sin. across ; 

 though, occasionally, two or more may meet, and join 

 into one spot. Under the microscope, the spots are seen 

 to be made up of a crowded mass of minute, egg-shaped 

 cells, of a rusty-brown colour, each supported on a long, 

 slender stalk. These cells are the spores of the Fungus, 

 and ripen towards the end of summer, or in autumn. In 

 spring, each pushes out a blunt, slender tube, on which 

 form three or four very small sporidia ; and these, if 

 they fall on a suitable food-plant, push a tube into it. 

 This tube branches and spreads through the tissues, and 

 forms, in turn, new spots of spores bursting through the 

 epidermis, or skin, of the leaf. It is believed, by some 

 botanists, that this Fungus appears also in another form 

 on one of the Spurges, Euphorbia Cyparissias. Plants 

 attacked by Rust should be burned as soon as possible, 

 to prevent the disease from spreading. The position of 

 the mycelium in the tissues of the host-plants renders 

 any direct means of destroying the Fungus hopeless, with- 

 out involving the host-plant in the demolition. Such 

 plants as favour its spread, and give it support, e.g., 

 Vetches, should be kept as far from the Pea crop as 

 possible. 



INSECT PESTS. The Pea is exposed to the attacks of 

 not a few insects. Some of these injure the leaves and 

 the young stems; others feed in the fruit, eating the 

 Peas, either while young and soft, or after they have 

 been stored in the granary, and leaving them mere hollow 

 shells, pierced at one side with a hole. The seeds are 

 frequently damaged by Millipedes (see Myriapoda) while 

 they are sprouting, especially in wet seasons, and, like 

 all garden produce, they are eaten by slugs and snails. 

 Among their worst foes are the Pea and Bean Weevils 

 (see Sitoua), which, as beetles, gnaw the leaflets, leaving 

 the margins notched ; or the whole leaflet is more or 

 less completely eaten away. In very bad attacks, the 

 whole crop may be destroyed. These beetles also feed 

 on Beans, Clover, Lucern, and other leguminous plants. 

 The most hurtful species are the Striped Pea Weevil 



