Encyclopaedia of Gardening 209 



i wise to make a wide drill with a draw hoe or other tool and 

 sprinkle the seed well over it, making a pint go at least 20 yards. 

 To avoid destruction by birds or vermin moisten the seed with 

 paraffin oil before sowing, and when the plants come through place 

 short twigs among them, and sprinkle fresh lime or soot about. In 

 case of bird trouble at a later stage set up scares. The sticks for 

 supporting Peas should be 18 ins. longer than the nominal height of 

 the Peas, and forced well down after having the base sharpened, so 

 that they grip securely. Six should be allowed per yard, three on 

 each side of the row, and the ranks of sticks should not be set 

 nearer than a foot of each other. String stakes and cord may be 

 used for supporting Peas up to 30 ins. high, but sticks are better. 

 Wire netting attached to iron rods or strong poles makes a very fair 

 substitute for sticks. When young Peas are nicely through they 

 may be thinned if crowded and earthed up with a couple of inches 

 of crumbly mould. W T here several rows are sown on the same piece 

 of ground it is customary to sow them the same distance apart that 

 the plants grow high, and the ground between may be cropped 

 with Spinach, Turnips, or Lettuces. If weevil should attack the 

 Peas they should be dusted with soot and lime in equal parts; and 

 mildew should be checked at once with fresh liver of sulphur, 

 dissolved in water at the strength of -J oz. per gallon. The 

 pods should be gathered young, and pods of different ages and 

 varieties should not be mixed in a dish. If very large pods are 

 wanted for exhibition, the plants should be stopped a foot short of 

 their full height and liquid manure applied. When the crop is 

 over, the plants should not be left on the ground to become a prey 

 to mildew, but should be cut off just above the ground level and 

 cleared away. The roots may be left in the ground, as they supply 

 the soil with nitrates. The following are good selections of varieties : 



Dwarf Early. 

 Little Marvel 



Dwarf Medium. 

 Daisy 



Dwarf Late. 

 Dwarf Mammoth 

 Three to four feet Early. 

 Gradus 

 May Queen 



Three to four feet Late. 

 Gladstone 

 Michaelmas 



Marrowfat Varieties of fine 

 Flavour. 



Duke of Albany, 5-6 ft. 

 Kaiser, 3 , , 



Peerless, 4 ,, 



Record, 5-6 ,, 



Large Exhibition Varieties. 



Alderman, 5-6 ft. 



Duke of Albany, 5-6 ,, 



Matchless Marrowfat, 5-6 ,, 

 Prizewinner, 3 ,, 



Quite Content, 5-6 ,, 



Potato (Solanum tuberosum). Admittedly the most important 

 of all vegetables, the Potato is also often one of the most disappoint- 

 ing, owing to its tenderness and liability to disease. Given warm, 

 dry weather from April to August there is no cause for anxiety, but 

 in a cold spring there is the fear of frost, and in a wet summer of 

 blight. If there is a choice of site it is well to plant the first crop on 







