146 GARDEN PLANTS. PART II. 



For size and excellence of flavour of its Pea, no kind surpasses 

 Bedman's Imperial. It is not of very high growth, and yields 

 abundantly, and in long succession. 



Equally excellent also is the Pea, annually imported from 

 America by the Agri-Horticultural Society, called the Peruvian 

 a large, full Marrowfat, with black eye, as is likewise the 

 Eugenie, an early wrinkled variety. The Sugar-Pea, remarkable 

 for its great flat eatable pods, though occasionally grown about 

 Calcutta, is not much to be commended. 



3. The late wrinkled Peas, of which there are several 

 varieties, do not appear to me well adapted for cultivation in 

 this country ; first, because the seed does not keep so well as 

 that of the Summer varieties, and as often as not proves 

 unsound when sown ; and, secondly, because for the most part 

 they grow to a great height, take a long time to complete 

 their growth, and are almost sure to be prostrated by a high 

 wind, either before they come into bearing or when laden with 

 their crop. 



Except in a soil that has been exhausted by over-cropping 

 the Pea seems to be abundantly productive without the aid 

 of much manuring. The earth should be well dug over towards 

 the end of the Kains to be in a state of preparation for the 

 sowing, which, however, must not take place till the Kains are 

 completely over. 



Dr. Liebig states that " The Pea thrives best if the seed is 

 put two or three inches deep in the soil. The roots of the 

 Pea-plant do not spread sideways, but go deep into the earth ; 

 hence Peas require a deep soil tilled down to the lower layers, 

 and a loose subsoil. Fresh manure has scarcely any influence 

 upon the growth of Peas." * 



Before sowing the ground should be again dug over and 

 broken up fine, and drills made, running north and south, about 

 two inches deep and about thirty inches apart. In Europe, 

 where it is recommended that Peas should have as much light 

 and air as possible, the rows are made as much as four or five 

 feet apart; but I have found in this country thirty inches 

 ample, and that the plants thrive better for the certain amount 

 of shade they afford one another from their closeness. I also 

 consider that they do better in a spot where they are partially 



* ' Natural Laws of Husbandry,' p. 154. 



