344 



P I S 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



P I S 



together, or within ten inches or a foot of each other, leaving 

 between each pair of those close rows an interstice of two 

 feet for the Dwarf Peas, or of three feet for the early climbers, 

 and three feet and a half or four feet for the larger sorts. 

 The reason of this is, that the stakes or bushes being placed 

 between two close rows, will support both; whereas in the 

 common way of sowing Peas, every row must have a row 

 of bushes. " Gardeners who vie with one another for the 

 earliest Peas, never stake them, alleging that it gives them 

 liberty to grow too much to the haulm, and that the early 

 fruit will thereby be prevented from ripening too soon. This 

 may be the case" in sandy soils; but in strong lands, if the, 

 Pea, especially the larger sorts, are not supported, they 

 will infallibly rot before they can be fit for the table. Field 

 Culture. Peas are cultivated by the farmer either alone or 

 with Beans. In strong lands the Bean is the predominant 

 crop; in lighter lands, the Pea. In such lands the Pea is 

 more frequently sown alone. The sorts commonly sown in 

 fields are the Gray, the Blue, and the White. Of these 

 there are innumerable transient varieties in our different 

 counties. In Suffolk, where the culture of the Pea is well 

 understood, they reckon, 1. The Common White. 2. The 

 Forty-day. 3. The Charlton. 4. The Blue. 5. The Large 

 Gray. 6. The Small Gray. 7. The Speckled. 8. The 

 Large Dutch. 9. The Dun. The Gray, and other large 

 winter Peas, are seldom cultivated in gardens, because they 

 require a great deal of room, but are usually sown in fields 

 in most parts of England. The best time for sowing these 

 is about the beginning of March, when the weather is pretty 

 dry, for if they be put into the ground in a very wet season, 

 they are apt to rot, especially if the ground be cold ; these 

 should be $t least allowed three or four feet from row to-row, 

 and must be sown very thin in the rows; for if they are sown 

 too thick, the haulm will spread so as to fall to the ground, 

 and ramble over each other, which will cause the plants to 

 rot, and prevent their bearing. They will bear being sown 

 in autumn; and it is a common practice in Herefordshire to 

 begin Pea-sowing as soon as the wheat-seed is over. The 

 Peas which are sown in autumn, or before Christmas, are 

 late sorts, and therefore are not proper where the crop is 

 to be harvested time enough for Turnips. The best method 

 to sow these Peas is, to draw a drill with a hoe two inches 

 deep by a line. Having scattered the seeds in it, to draw 

 the earth over them with a rake. This is a quick method 

 for gardens; but where they are sown in fields, they com- 

 monly make a shallow furrow, with the plough, and harrow 

 in the seeds. Where labour is dear, it is a great expense to 

 weed and earth up the plants by hand-hoeing; but it may 

 be easily effected by a horse-hoe, which will not only kill the 

 weeds, but by stirring the soil render it mellow, greatly 

 promote the growth of the plants, and render the- ground 

 titter to receive another crop the following season. The 

 Gray Peas thrive best on a strong clayey land; these are 

 commonly sown under-furrow; but by this method they are 

 always too thick, and do not come up regularly; they there- 

 fore should also be sown in drills. Being much hardier than 

 the former sorts, these may be sown towards the end of 

 February. The Common White Pea will do best on light 

 sandy land, or on a loose rich soil. The usual method of 

 sowing these Peas, is with a broad-cast, and to harrow them 

 in: but it is a much better way to sow them in drills about 

 three feet asunder; for less than half the quantity of seed 

 will do for an acre, and the ground may be hoed, both to 

 destroy the weeds, and earth up the Peas. The usual time 

 for sowing these Peas is the middle of March or the begin- 

 i ing of April, on warm land ; but on cold ground they should 



be sown a fortnight or three weeks, later. In the common 

 way of sowing they allow three bushels or more to an acre; 

 but if they be drilled, a bushel and a half will be sufficient. 

 The Green and Maple Rouncivals require a stronger soil 

 than the white, and should be sown a little later in the 

 spring; the drills also should be at a greater distance, as 

 two feet and a half or three feet, for this sort is apt to grow 

 rank, especially in a wet season. The ground between the 

 rows should be hoed two or three times. The Forty-day, or 

 the Charlton Pea, should be sown early in March; and if 

 Turnips are intended, not later than t'hat month: late-sown 

 crops are subject to the green fly or dolphin ; and to avoid 

 that, it is recommended to sow in February. If Peas are not 

 intended as a preparation for Turnips, many sow before 

 Christmas, but this must be on dry land, and in a dry time ; 

 for if they are sown after rain or snow, the crop will suffer. 

 By sowing the Charlton Pea early in March, the crop will 

 be cleared in June, or the first week in July, which is a good 

 season for Turnips, and on all dry soils ought never to be 

 neglected. If the harvest happens to be later, the wads 

 should be laid in rows, and the plough sent in, by which 

 a w*k, 01 perhaps ten days, may be gained. The advantages 

 of this practice must be obvious, when it is considered that 

 a thick smothering crop of Peas not only chokes weeds, but 

 improves the soil, particularly in leaving the surface loose 

 and friable, from the putrefactive fermentation carried on 

 under the crop, by retaining the moisture, and excluding 

 the sun; and if the land be ploughed directly, which is a 

 great point, though much neglected, proves a fine prepa- 

 ration for Turnips : the Peas are not the only gain, but the 

 saving in tillage; for by this means the latter crop is put in 

 upon one ploughing only, which can be effected no other 

 way. Less than three bushels to an acre ought not to be 

 sown broad-cast. One great object, perhaps the greatest, in 

 this crop is, to procure a thick cover over the soil, to destroy 

 weeds, and breed a moist fermentation on the surface, which 

 a thin crop cannot produce. If the produce only be regarded, 

 and the hoes are designed to be perpetually at work, two 

 bushels, and even less, are enough: some sow four, but that 

 is evidently too much. A common method in Suffolk is to 

 put Peas on a lay with only one ploughing; the seed to be 

 pricked in with iron dibbles. This method succeeds well, 

 but it should be practised only on loams and good sand: 

 very poor sand will not do for Peas; and on clay Beans 

 answer far better. When the crop is put on a stubble, the 

 land should be ploughed in autumn, and, if the season requires 

 it, twice in the spring; but one ploughing, judiciously timed, 

 may do better than two. The seed may be cither ploughed 

 or harrowed in; if the former, it must be above three inches 

 deep, but harrowing in is safer, if the harrows let them in 

 two inches; but in this case they must be watched against 

 rooks and pigeons. When Peas are planted by hand on a 

 turf once ploughed, it is called dibbling. A man walking 

 backwards, that he may not tread on the holes, strikes a 

 dibble that makes two holes, sometimes three, on a nine-inch 

 furrow, and is followed by boys, who drop a pea in every 

 hole. These operations are both performed in Suffolk, for 

 eight shillings an acre. They are covered by a bush-harrow; 

 and the peas come up about four inches every way, and, 

 being so close, neither want nor admit of hoeing. Seven 

 pecks, or two bushels, of seed, sow an acre. Drilling is used 

 on land in tilth. The rows should be doubled at eighteen 

 inches asunder, and then an interval of two feet; in the hoe- 

 ing, attention should be given to make the two rows clasp 

 together. Drilled peas should be hand-hoed well while the 

 crop is young, and afterwards in the intervals, taking care 



