PEA 



I'EA 



only and best remedy is to saw off 

 the blighted limbs at once and burn 

 them. 



Harris also mentions the existence 

 of a borer of tiie same genus as that 

 of the peach {JEgeria pijri) ; it is, 

 however, scarcely known. 



The buds are subject to a cur- 

 culio (C. pyri, Fig.), of the size of 

 the line, which de- 

 posites her egg in 

 the young flower- 

 bud, and retires to 

 the earth m the 

 fall ; it is, howev- 

 c er, so seldom mul- 

 Natarai».ie. tiplied to E great 



extent, that its effects are more ben- 

 eficial than otherwise, by hindering 

 too much fruit from being formed, 

 and thus improving what remains. 



Drying Fears. — The following ex- 

 cellent method is from KenricK', and 

 is applicable to apples also : '• When 

 dried in ovens the fruit wd! keep for 

 years. This mode of preserving is 

 common in France. Bosc has de- 

 scribed two modes of drying pears, | 

 and adds, that, in some of the can- 

 tons of that country, the cultivators 

 annually preserve, by these means, 

 supplies of subsistence extremely 

 agreeable and wholesome during win- 

 ter and spring. He invites cultiva- 

 tors not to neglect this resource. In 

 this mode of drying, those varieties 

 of middle size, melting and sweet, 

 are preferred. After the bread is 

 drawn from the oven, they are placed 

 on the swept hearth, or on hurdles 

 or boards. This operation is repeat- 

 ed a second, a third, and even a fourth 

 time, according to their size and the 

 degree of heat. The heat must not 

 be so great as to scorch, and the fruit 

 must not be dried to hardness. Last- 

 ly, they are placed in bags, and pre- 

 served in a dry place. The second 

 mode of preserving is practised chief- 

 ly on the Rousselets and finest fla- 

 voured varieties. Bosc states that 

 he has tried them after three years' 

 preservation, and found tliem still 

 good ; but they are better during tiie 

 first year. They are gathered a lit- 

 tle before their maturity, and after 



being half boiled in a small quantity 

 of water, they are peeled and drain- 

 ed. Tiiey are next carried on hur- 

 dles to the oven, after the bread is 

 drawn, or the oven is heated to a 

 suitable degree ; here they remain 

 twelve hours, after which they are 

 steeped in the sirup, to which have 

 been added sugar, cinnamon, cloves, 

 and brandy. They are again return- 

 ed to the oven, which is now heated 

 to a less degree than at first. This 

 operation is thrice repeated, until 

 they are sufficiently dried, or of a 

 clear brown colour, and firm, trans- 

 parent flesh ; and, finally, they are 

 packed in boxes lined with paper." 



PEARL ASHES. See Potashes. 



PEAT. " This is a substance of 

 vegetable origin, found wherever the 

 soil has been long soaked with water 

 which has no outlet, and does not 

 completely evaporate by the heat of 

 the sun. 



" When dried peat is examined, it 

 is found to consist of roots and fibres 

 in every stage of decomposition, from 

 the natural wood to the complete- 

 ly black vegetable mould. I^arge 

 branches and trunks of trees are found 

 imbedded in peat, which have no 

 mark of decomposition, except what 

 may have taken place before the wood 

 was completely immersed in the peat. 

 Peat contains the elements of ma- 

 nure, and may by an easy process be 

 converted into humus : for this pur- 

 pose, the agency of alkalies is the 

 most effectual. When peat is newly 

 dug up, if caustic lime be added to it 

 before it is dry, the moisture of the 

 peat slacks the lime, which acts on 

 the peat and neutralizes it. If this 

 mixture be then excited to fermenta- 

 tion by the addition of animal matter, 

 such as urine or dung, oxygen is ab- 

 sorbed and carbonic acid evolved, 

 and the residue is converted into an 

 excellent manure, containing much 

 humus. Tiie same may be effected 

 more slowly by mixmg peat with clay 

 or marl, and allowing the mi.xtiire to 

 remain exposed to the atmosphere 

 for a considerable time, frequently 

 turning it ; but nothing accelerates 

 this process like the addition of pu- 



567 



