7 68 ADDENDUM 



ready shelled in the market, the produce in many instances of 

 Surrey, Bedfordshire, Essex, and adjoining counties, from whence 

 comes the great bulk of both early and mid-season Peas to Covent 

 Garden. In making early sowings it is a practice with market 

 growers to choose a fine day to break down the ridges (the ground 

 having previously been manured and cast into ridges), measure 

 off the lines and draw drills in the forenoon, leaving them open 

 till the afternoon, so that the soil in them may dry a little and 

 become warmer; then to sow the seeds and cover all up before 

 evening. The drills vary from 2 ft. to 3^ ft. apart according to 

 the vigour of the sorts which are to be sown. When the rows are 

 close together, Lettuces and Spinach are used as intercrops, but 

 when more widely distant from each other Cauliflowers are then 

 usually planted. It many instances the first sowing of Peas is 

 made in December on a warm border ; but considering 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 arty 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 sorts are those 

 most grown 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 more closely the pods are picked the longer do the plants 

 continue to bear. Some market gardeners save their own seed, 

 others grow Peas for seed only. In this case the haulm is 

 frequently shifted from one side of the row to the other in order to 

 prevent the pods from rotting or from being destroyed by slugs, 

 snails, etc., and to expose them to the air and sun to cause all to 

 ripen alike. When ripe the haulm is pulled up and taken indoors 

 and when the seed has become dry it is shelled or thrashed out 

 during wet weather. 



SELECT LIST OF PEAS 

 Early Dwarf Varieties 



Pioneer. A first-rate dwarf Pea, height about 2 ft, good cropper. 

 Chelsea Gem. An excellent dwarf kind, height 18 in., good 

 cropper. 



English Wonder. Well-known dwarf Pea, height 2 ft., good 

 cropper. 



Taller First Early Varieties 



William the First. A first-rate early round-seeded Pea, 

 height 4 to 5 ft., good cropper. 



