THE CANNING OF PEAS. 



over the vines and picking the pods to the cultivating of large 

 fields which are cut by a machine. The< viner occupies the same 

 relation to hand picking in the pea-canning industry that the 

 thrashing machine does to the flail in the thrashing of wheat. 



Pea canning is one of the most important lines of the canning 

 industry, being third in order of output, tomatoes and corn being, 

 respectively, first and second, although peas are second in point of 

 value. The pea pack for 1907 is estimated at 6,505,961 cases, valued 

 at $14,650,000, the largest amount ever packed in one season. Accord- 

 ing to the statistics given by The Canner and Dried Fruit Packer of 

 December 26, 1907, the production of peas in the different States 

 during 1907 was as follows: 



Peas canned during 1901, &// State*. 



Cases. 



California 90,450 



Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and 



Oregon- _ 193,018 



Delaware.. 141,046 



Illinois 216,508 



Indiana 826,500 



Iowa 50,000 



Kansas 11, 589 



Maryland 568,393 



Michigan 595,088 



Cases. 



Minnesota 25, 750 



New Jersey 153, 564 



New York 1,659,944 



Ohio 101,521 



Pennsylvania 80,373 



Virginia 15, 486 



Wisconsin ___ 1,773,599 



Other States __ 3,132 



Total United States__ 6, 505, 961 



THE PEA. 



ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS. 



The pea belongs to the LeguminosaB, an order of plants which is of 

 great economical value, as many of its members yield foods, drugs, 

 dyes, and valuable woods. Chief among their products are peas, 

 beans, lentils, peanuts, tamarinds, licorice, senna, gum tragacanth, gum 

 arable, logwood, indigo, rosewood, locust, and Brazil wood. 



The origin of the pea is unknown, but it is supposed to have been 

 carried to Europe by the Aryans at a remote period. The field pea, 

 Pwiun <irr<<iise, is found wild in Italy, but the garden pea, Pixum 

 sativum, grows only under cultivation, so far as known. In Queen 

 Elizabeth's time peas were occasionally brought from Holland and 

 considered " a dainty dish for ladies, they came so far and cost so 

 dear." The taste for green peas became fashionable after the Restora- 

 tion in 1660, and their culture was given much attention, later becom- 

 ing so general as to be one of the most important field crops. Garden 

 peas were considered a delicacy, and the French gave considerable 

 attention to their culture and canning, and through selection they 

 developed varieties yielding tender small peas of fine flavor. The 

 pea was brought to Xorth America by European colonists, and grown 

 in kitchen and market gardens. 



