SHELLING PEAS 527 



English Wonder Pea. A dwarf Pea, not much over 14 in. in 



height, with short and very branching stem bearing five or six tiers 

 of flowers in pairs. The pods are medium-sized, straight, rounded 

 at the end, and well filled with from six to eight rather small, 

 flattened, wrinkled green peas. In productiveness this variety is 

 both abundant and prolonged, and its quality is of the best. 



Witham Wonder Pea. Very dwarf, much like the English 

 Wonder Pea, but not usually more than n or 12 in. in height. 

 It is half-early. The stems are thick, branching, bearing pods near 

 the soil, and five or six tiers of flowers in pairs. The pods are thin, 

 between 3 and 4 in. long, curved at the end, well filled with eight 

 or nine rather small, much flattened, wrinkled green peas. A very 

 productive variety, and of excellent quality. 



William Hurst Pea. Stems short, irregular, and close jointed ; 

 the leaves and stipules small, oblong, rather stiff, of an ash-green 

 colour. Though small, it is a vigorous and sturdy variety. The flowers 

 are small, white, solitary, or in pairs, and start from the eighth joint 

 upwards. The pods are thin, fairly long, much curved, and contain 

 six to eight medium-sized glaucous green and, when ripe, much- 

 wrinkled peas. One of the best dwarf sorts for the kitchen-garden 

 as well as the field. 



Stratagem Pea. Very like the Pride of the Market 

 Pea, the only difference between the two being that in the 

 Stratagem Pea the foliage is a more vivid green, and the seed 

 wrinkled. 



EDIBLE-PODDED, or SUGAR, PEAS 



French^ Pois sans parchemin. Gen/tan, Zucker-Erbsen. Dutch, Peulen. Italian, Piselli 

 di guscio tenero. Portuguese, Ervilhas de casca. 



In all the varieties of Peas of which we have hitherto spoken, the 

 pod is lined on the inside with a thin but hard and tough membrane, 

 which, contracting as the pod ripens and dries, causes it to open into 

 two equal parts, which become twisted spirally and often project 

 the peas to some distance. We are now about to describe a class 

 of varieties the pods of which are destitute of this membrane, and 

 consequently always soft and tender, and do not open when ripe, 

 so that they may be eaten entire, the tender fleshy part of the pod 

 becoming more fully developed in the absence of the tough 

 parchment-like membrane. 



A. TALL CLIMBING VARIETIES 



Forty Days Edible-podded Pea. A climbing variety, from 

 3j to 4j ft. high. Stems slender, rather long jointed, and com- 

 mencing to flower at about the fifth or sixth joint ; flowers usually 



