PASTERN OF A HORSE. 



PEA, THE. 



fhe filamentous appendages or rays bearing a 

 resemblance to the cross; the emblem of the 

 passion of Christ). The species of this inte- 

 resting arid elegant genus are admirably adapt- 

 ed for stove and green-house climbers, being 

 of easy culture, free growers, and, if allowed 

 plenty of room, producing abundance of beau- 

 tiful flowers. Many of the kinds produce fruit 

 freely, from which, through impregnation, 

 several fine hybrids have been raised. The 

 fruit of some, as P. edulis, P. laurifolia, and P. 

 tfitaffriniiinlfiris, or granadilla, are eaten: the 

 succulent pulp which surrounds the seeds is 

 found to be fragrant, cooling, and pleasant, 

 agreeably acid, and admirably adapted for 

 allaying thirst in hot climates. 



AH the species will thrive well in a mixture 

 of loam and peat, and are easily increased by 

 cuttings planted in sand. The hardy kinds 

 should be planted in sheltered situations. 



PASTERN OF A HORSE. The distance 

 that intervenes between the joint of that name 

 and the coronet of the hoof. 



PASTURE (Fr.). Ground on which cattle 

 feed. I have, under the head GRASS, gone at 

 some length into the question of the grasses 

 best adapted for different soils. The pastures 

 of England and Ireland exceed in extend and 

 productiveness those of any other country of 

 similar extent. "The excellence of pastures," 

 observes the author of The British Husbandry, 

 vol. i. p. 478, "depends greatly both upon their 

 position and the different species of animals 

 for whose support they are intended. Thus, 

 uplands which are elevated, open, and dry, are 

 the best adapted for the feeding of sheep; 

 while a heavy stock is fed with more advan- 

 tage upon ground which is lower in point of 

 situation, as well as better enclosed. The soil 

 of uplands, particularly if it be of a chalky na- 

 ture, bears a sweet, though a short bite of grass, 

 which is so favourable to the pasturage of the 

 smaller breeds of sheep, that although it will 

 support but a scanty stock, it yet produces the 

 finest species of mutton. These flocks of sheep, 

 too, by the folding system, keep in cultivation 

 many a poor, thin soil, which would otherwise 

 be worthless. There is an excellent paper, by 

 Mr. Magillivray, on the natural pastures of 

 Scotland, in which he traces the natural 

 grasses which are found on the highest ele- 

 vations down to the valleys and sea-shore. 

 "The bleak summits of these mountains," he 

 remarks, " exposed to the depressing influence 

 of a low temperature, boisterous winds, and 

 abundant rains, covered for a great part of the 

 year with snow, and presenting either bare rock 

 or a shallow, gritty soil, produce few plants of 

 any description, and hardly a dozen of those 

 which are selected by sheep as their food. 

 These latter consist of 3 or 4 carices or hard 

 grasses, 1 or 2 junci or rushes, some tufts of 

 the common club-rush, together with the Fes- 

 tun, ririparn, and 1 or 2 other grasses. The 

 exireme heights scarcely present any other 

 vegetation than Silcne ncaulis, Sali.r hcrbarea, 

 and Statice armeria. Farther down the moun- 

 tains, extending downwards to about 3000 feet 

 above the level of the sea, we find a vegetation 

 still poor and stunted, but by no means defi- 

 cient in beauty, and perhaps affording better 

 874 



! pasturage than some of the lower grounds, 

 j We here find irregular patches of verdure, 

 consisting chiefly of Carices and Scirpus ccespi- 

 tosos, which, however, are also eaten by sheep; 

 by the streamlets are several species of Alpine 

 plants. Farther down the mountains, Aira 

 flexuosa grows in tufts, and of a large size, 

 Several carices form a tolerable sward in 

 many places ; the As,rostis vulgaris, &c., occa- 

 sionally occurs. Calluna vulgaris, or common 

 heath, first makes its appearance. As we 

 proceed downwards, and arrive at the places 

 where the mountains begin to expand, we en- 

 ter upon a region, the predominant feature of 

 which is the Calluna vulgaris, mingled with 

 Erica cinerca (the gray-leaved heath) ; the 

 vegetation becomes more vigorous; various 

 grasses present themselves. The valleys of 

 this region, in which flow the streamlets, are 

 generally more verdant than the open ground. 

 The heaths are less abundant, and the pastur- 

 age consists chiefly of carices and graminese, 

 intermingled with many of the plants of ordi- 

 nary pasture ground, such as Lotus corniculatus, 

 Polyqala vulgaris, &c. The general aspect of 

 the vegetation, however, is healthy, and con- 

 tinues so until we reach the vicinity of the 

 river." For every information, however, re- 

 lating to the formation of pastures, and the 

 cultivation of the grasses, the farmer cannot 

 consult a better authority than the Hortia 

 Gram. Woburnensis of the late Mr. George Sin- 

 clair. 



In feeding pastures, it is usual with those fields 

 which are shut up from stock at Candlemas, to 

 graze them in the succeeding May. Those 

 which are fed until April may, after being shut 

 up, be grazed again at Midsummer. If it is 

 intended to feed a pasture during the winter, 

 it should be allowed to rest in the months of 

 October and November. See MEADOW and 

 GRASSES. 



PEA, THE (Pimm sativum, Fr. pois, Span, pe- 

 solcs. The English is evidently a corruption 

 of the Latin name). This valuable plant is 

 supposed to be a native of the south of Europe, 

 and was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans. 

 It is said by Acton to have been brought to 

 England in 1548. There are only one or two 

 kinds of pea: the gray pea (P. arvense"), and 

 the pea cultivated as a vegetable in gardens 

 (P. sativum). Of the last, however, the varie- 

 ties are endless. 



Of field peas, the varieties are distinguished 

 as the early and the late ripening. The com- 

 mon early are small and dark-coloured. The 

 gray pea of this class is the most common. 



The later sown varieties are generally simi- 

 lar in their characters to garden peas ; they 

 differ, however, from them in having usually 

 purple flowers. The most common kinds are 

 the white, the early Charlton, and the pearl. 

 Field peas, especially where there is a consi- 

 derable demand for them, as in the neighbour- 

 hood of large towns, are a very profitable crop 

 to be gathered green, since there is time after 

 the peas are gathered, in the month of June, to 

 prepare the land for a crop of turnips. 



Where they are grown for their seeds, the white 

 peas are those generally cultivated for the pur- 

 pose of boiling, the gray as food for animals. 



