I'KA 



ble rough fodder, if carefully housed. 

 The grain is tlirastiud out, and forms 

 one of the best kinds of provender 

 for all stock and poultry. The yield 

 per acre is from twenty-five to forty 

 bushels. 



Tlie pea can be readily forced in 

 the hot-house, and may be much ad- 

 vanced by glass. The diseases of 

 the pea are few; mildew and plant 

 lice sometimes destroy late crops. 



Manures. — Like all leguminous 

 plants, pease require lime and gyp- 

 sum, but as they yield much seed, 

 bone earth is also essential. They 

 are an exhausting crop. The com- 

 position of the pea is given by Spren- 

 gel : 1000 parts in the ordinary dry 

 state yield 



PEA BUG. Bruchus ptst. A well- 

 known coleopterous insect which lays 

 its egg in the young pea, and comes 

 out in May. Sowing pease two years 

 old, taking care invariably to destroy 

 the insects that are hatched, is a cer- 

 tain preventive. 



PEA, COW. Yeatman's pea. A 

 very productive yellow Southern pea, 

 much used for green fallows in the 

 same way as clover. 



PEANUT. See Pindars. 



PEA PATTRIDGE. Cassia cka- 

 mcecrista. Wild sensitive plant. It 

 is a beautiful ornamental plant. 



PEACH. Amygdalus Persica, of 

 the natural family Pomacea. The fol- 

 lowing account is partly from Mr. 

 Thomas : 



" The peach is usually cultivated 

 by planting the stone in autumn, at a 

 depth of about two inches ; a small 

 part of them grow the succeeding 

 spring, and the remainder the year 

 following. Cracking the stones be- 

 fore planting ensures their growth the 

 first season, but it is best in this case 

 to expose the stones to the action of 

 frost during winter, mixed with sand 

 or earth, and to defer the planting till 

 560 



PKA 



spring. If the soil be fertile, so that 

 their growth is vigorous, they may 

 be budded the same season ; but if 

 not, the operation must be deferred 

 till the second. One and two years' 

 growth of the hud will render' them 

 large enough to transplant into the 

 orchard. 



" The most suitable soil for the 

 peach is a rich, sandy loam ; a light 

 soil is generally preferred, but this is 

 not indispensable, if tlie ground be 

 well prepared. Peach-trees, when 

 transplanted, should not be large. 



" To obtain good varieties with any 

 degree of certainty, budding must be 

 resorted to. Grafting rarely suc- 

 ceeds, and never unless performed 

 with unusual care on such kinds as 

 have the firmest wood. It is an ad- 

 vantage to bud on almond or plum 

 stocks. 



" When the great difference be- 

 tween good and bad varieties is re- 

 membered, the importance of obtain- 

 ing the best must be obvious. The 

 reputation of some which are excel- 

 lent has been greatly injured by the 

 numerous errors in names which have 

 been introduced. 



" This misapplication of names has 

 induced the attempt to arrange the 

 varieties and distinctive characters, 

 so that this inconvenience may be re- 

 moved. The peach presents facili- 

 ties for this purpose not existing in 

 other fruits. The following, which is 

 generally adopted as the best, is from 

 Lindley. Peaches and nectarines 

 (which may be considered as one and 

 the same fruit, the latter having 

 smooth skins) are separated into 

 three general classes, each of which 

 has three divisions ; these are each 

 separated into two subdivisions, and 

 every subdivision into two sections : 

 consisting, in all, of thirty-six sec- 

 tions. Only a part of these sections 

 contain varieties with which we are 

 acquainted, and are only to be filled 

 up as new ones are discovered with 

 characters adapted to them. 



" Class I. comprehends those the 

 leaves of which are deeply and doubly 

 serrated, and having no glands on the 

 serratures (Fig. 1). 



