PEAS 



493 



with other dwarf crops between. 

 Mulching with manure is a valuable 

 expedient, and, in connection with a 

 good preparation of the land at this 

 season, should render watering, even 

 in the driest weather, unnecessary. 

 The mulch, which should consist of 

 half-decayed stable manure, should 

 be spread on both sides of the rows 

 of Peas 1 8 in. or so wide and 3 or 

 4 in. thick. Gathering should be 

 done carefully, and as soon as they 

 are fit for use ; and in many cases 

 a second crop of young shoots and 

 blossoms will put forth, and a second 

 crop of Peas, which will be very 

 useful, will be produced. 



TALL AND DWARF PEAS.* -Dwarf 

 Peas are very useful where sticks or 

 supports cannot easily be obtained ; 

 but where sticks do not cost much, 

 for the main crop tall Peas are best, 

 as they are more prolific. In the case 

 of all Peas requiring support and, 

 if possible, all Peas, even those of 

 dwarf habit, should be supported 

 the sticks should be placed to the 

 rows early, and the tops of the sticks 

 should be levelled with the shears, 

 and the pieces cut off be used be- 

 tween the large sticks at the base, 

 to prevent the plants straggling 

 through, and to give them an up- 

 ward tendency. 



Nearly all market-gardeners near 

 London grow Peas largely; and 

 although French Peas are sent to 

 market early in May, and sold at 

 cheaper rates than English growers 

 could afford to produce them, prefer- 

 ence is always given to home-grown 

 Peas, for which there is always a 

 good demand until about September. 

 Until the end of October, however, 

 fine examples of the Ne Plus Ultra 

 type may be obtained ready shelled 

 in the market, the produce in many 

 instances of the Surrey fields, Bed- 

 fordshire, Essex, and adjoining coun- 

 ties, from whence come the greater 



bulk of both early and mid-season 

 Peas to Covent Garden. In making 

 early sowings it is a practice with 

 market-gardeners to choose a fine 

 day "to break down the ridges 

 (the ground having been previously 

 manured and cast into ridges), 

 measure off the lines and draw drills 

 in the forenoon, and to leave them 

 open till the afternoon, so that the 

 soil in them may dry a little, and 

 become thereby warmer ; then to 

 sow the seeds and cover all up 

 before the evening. The drills vary 

 from 2 to 3 1 ft. apart, according to 

 the vigour of the sorts which are 

 to be sown. In the close lines, 

 Lettuces or Spinach are used as 

 inter-crops, but in the more distant 

 ones Cauliflower is the crop usually 

 planted. In many instances, the 

 first sowing of Peas is made in 

 December on a warm border ; but, 

 considering that they must be sown 

 a little deeper than in January, and 

 the risks to which the seeds are 

 liable from mice, birds, insects, and 

 damp, it is a much-disputed point 

 among good growers whether the 

 December sowing has any advantage 

 over that made in January, many 

 contending that the produce of the 

 latter is quite as early as that of the 

 former, and the crop less subject 

 to risks. Different growers have a 

 preference for different kinds; but 

 the early dwarf kinds are universally 

 the most desired, on account of their 

 quick returns, the small space they 

 occupy, and because they require 

 no stakes. 



Peas are seldom staked in market- 

 gardens, the haulm being allowed 

 to lie on the ground. Gathering is 

 a matter well attended to, as the 

 oftener the pods are picked when 

 full the longer do the plants continue 

 to bear. Most market-gardeners 

 save their own seed, and some grow 

 Peas for seed only; in this case 



See also p. 767. 



