PREFACE 



This little book on Peas and Pea Culture is in- 

 tended to be of value to the student and practical 

 farmer alike. Enough of the scientific has been 

 provided to meet the demands of the former, and the 

 references to principles of breeding and improvement 

 of existing strains go into sufficient detail to prove 

 about as interesting and sleep providing for the 

 average college student as some of Darwin's exten- 

 sive treatises on plant and animal life. For the 

 practical grower, great care has been exercised to 

 keep details true to field conditions. The author 

 has been interested in this crop from his early days 

 when he first helped " dadder " to gather a mess for 

 dinner, on through to his more mature years when 

 gathering for his own family and sending the sur- 

 plus to early market at $1 to $2 per bushel. 



The canning of peas, which has grown to vast 

 proportions, is an industry by itself. So the author 

 took two weeks' vacation and visited large canning 

 districts in New York and Michigan. Here he 

 studied conditions at first hand, visiting with the 

 packers, noting the various processes and climbing 

 on to the lumber wagon to go and visit the farmer, 

 watch him gather the crop and bring it to the 

 factory. Aside from this, many resources have been 

 drawn upon, including the scraps of testimony from 

 various experiment stations, agricultural colleges, 

 individual experimenters, etc. 



So far as advised we know of no individual 

 treatise on the subject of Peas and their culture. In 



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