PEAS. 



PEAS. 



Garden Culture of the Pea. Of the numerous 

 arieties, which differ much in their hardiness, 

 field, height, &c., we may enumerate the fol- 

 lowing: Cormack's early dwarf-pea, early 

 Charlton, early golden Charlton, early Nichol's 

 golden Charlton, common Charlton, Reading 

 hotspur, early single-blossomed, early War- 

 wick, early dwarf frame, early double-blossom- 

 sd frame, dwarf marrowfat, tall marrowfat, 

 green or Patagonia marrowfat, early green 

 nonpareil, Knight's marrowfat or wrinkled pea, 

 Spanish moratto, imperial blue, Prussian blue, 

 egg, white Rouncival, gray Rouncival, green 

 Rouncival, blue Rouncival, tall sugar (the 

 sugar-peas are eaten like kidney-beans), crown 

 or rose, Leadman's dwarf, dwarf sugar, dwarf 

 Spanish, sickle pea. 



A soil moderately rich and mouldy is best 

 suited to this vegetable ; rather inclining to 

 aluminous for the lofty growers and main 

 crops, but for the early and late ones, light and 

 dry ; if naturally otherwise, rendered so by the 

 admixture of drift-sand with the earth of the 

 drills. Dwarf varieties will grow on poorer 

 and lighter soils than, the others. In an ex- 

 tremely rich soil they grow luxuriant but un- 

 productive. They are rather injured than 

 benefited by the application of unreduced dung 

 at the time of sowing. Road dirt and rotted 

 leaves form the best compost for them. For 

 the early and late crops, that is, from October 

 until the close of January, and during June 

 and July, the sowings must be performed in 

 sheltered situations, as south borders. In De- 

 cember, the rows are best drawn parallel with 

 and within a foot of the fence. At other sea- 

 sons their site cannot be too open. 



They are propagated by seed, the sowing of 

 which commences with the year. In January 

 they may be inserted in sheltered borders, and 

 large supplies in an open compartment, and 

 thence continued throughout February and until 

 luly, once every two or three weeks. During 

 this last month, and in the first week of August, 

 the last sowings must be made for produc- 

 tion the same year. For the first production 

 in the following year, a small sowing may be 

 performed at the close of October, and repeated 

 about the middle of November and December, 

 though it often happens that these are scarcely 

 a week forwarder than those inserted in the 

 following February. The necessary extent of 

 the various sowings may be determined with 

 tolerable exactness from the experiments of 

 Bradley ; he found on the average that 3 rods 

 of ground, containing 18 double rows, afforded 

 36 quarts of shelled peas. 



The seed must be inserted in drills, or by 

 the dibble, in rows at a distance proportionate 

 to the height to which the variety grows, as 

 well as according to the season. 



When the plants have advanced to a height 

 of 2 or 3 inches, they are to be hoed, the weeds 

 cleared a way, and earth drawn round the stems. 

 This should be performed twice or three times 

 gradually as they ascend, previous to the sticks 

 being placed. It should be performed in dry 

 weather, and the leaves never covered, or in 

 wet weather they decay. For the winter stand- 

 ing crops it should be especially attended to, as 

 it protects them greatly from frost. Peas are 

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always best supported by sticks ; if it is neg- 

 lected, even for the dwarf varieties, they not 

 only produce less, but sooner decay, are incon- 

 venient to cultivate and gather from, and never 

 so fine. Sticking is not required until the plants 

 are 6 inches in height, or show their tendrils. 

 If, during the time of blossoming, or swelling 

 of the fruit, continued drought should occur, 

 water may be very beneficially applied, it being 

 poured between the rows, if they are in pairs, 

 or otherwise in a shallow trench on one side 

 of each. Watering the leaves is rather inju- 

 rious. Failures in the rows of the earliest 

 crops, whether from mice or other causes, may 

 be rectified by transplanting. This is best per- 

 formed in March ; the plants thus removed 

 must be watered until they have taken root, and 

 also shaded, if the weather is hot. It is a good 

 practice to nip off the top of the leading shoots 

 of the early and late crops as soon as they are 

 in blossom, as it greatly accelerates the setting 

 and maturity of the fruit. Too much care can- 

 not be taken when the pods are gathered, not 

 to injure the stems. I have heard it stated from 

 lengthened experience, that if the pods are cut 

 off with scissors, the plants produced one-fourth 

 more than when roughly gathered from. Brad- 

 ley makes nearly a similar observation. From 

 the main crops, or where there is no necessity 

 for precipitation on account of bringing them 

 to table early, the pods should not be gathered 

 until the peas have become plump and mode- 

 rately firm, yet green and tender. The more 

 regularly the plants are gathered from, the 

 longer they continue in production, as the 

 later pods never attain maturity if the earlier 

 ones are allowed to grow old before they are 

 gathered. 



In very severe weather the winter standing 

 crops require the shelter of litter or other light 

 covering, supported as much as possible from 

 the plants by means of branches laid between 

 the rows. Mr. J. Laird, gardener, at Portmore, 

 N. B., employs straw ropes or twisted bands 

 for this purpose, which he fixes along each 

 side of the rows with wooden pins, driven into 

 the ground. Whichever mode of shelter is 

 adopted, it must be always removed in mild 

 weather, otherwise the plants will be spindled, 

 and rendered weaker. For the imperial blue, 

 frame, and other dwarf varieties, the sticks 

 need not be more than 3 feet high ; for the 

 Prussian blue, hotspur, and other middle-sized 

 varieties, about 5 ; for the Knight's marrowfat, 

 and other tall ones, at least 7; and for the Pa- 

 tagonian, not less than 8. The best wood for 

 this purpose is the brush, or fan-shaped 

 branches of the hazel, &c. Before they are 

 employed, the ends that are thrust into the 

 ground should be charred, or moderately burnt, 

 which effectually preserves them from decay. 

 If this is attended to, and, when no longer re- 

 quired, the sticks, if thoroughly dry, on a fine 

 day are stored in a dry shed, they will last for 

 three or more years. 



For the production of seed, leave some rows 

 that are in production during July, or sow pur- 

 posely in March. Care must be taken, how- 

 ever, that no two varieties are in blossom near 

 each other at the same time, but a lapse of at 

 least three weeks should occur, otherwise no 



