PEA 



C 612 ] 



PEA 



which the peas will he well rooted, and 

 place them on a hand- harrow, and take 

 them to the border for planting, which 

 do in a drill cut so deep that they shall 

 be about an inch lower than they were in 

 the box. It may be necessary to protect 

 them from frost and cool winds at first, 

 and this may be done by patting some 

 short sticks along the rows, and laying 

 some long litter or cuttings of evergreens 

 over them. Gard. C/iron. 



Sowing. In January they may be sown 

 in sheltered borders, and larger supplies 

 in an open compartment, and thence con- 

 tinued throughout February and until the 

 end of May once every two or three weeks. 



For the first production in the follow- 

 ing year, a small sowing may be made 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 in- 

 serted in the following February. 



Sow in drills, or by the dibble in rows, 

 at a distance proportionate to the height 

 to which the variety grows, as well as ac- 

 cording to the season; Dwarfs at two feet, 

 for the early and late crops, but three 

 feet for the main ones; Marrowfats at 

 three and a half or four and a half; 

 Knight's Marrowfats and other gigantic 

 varieties at six or eight. Peas not in- 

 tended to be supported require the least 

 room. At the early and late sowings the 

 seed should be buried an inch deep, but 

 for the main crops an inch and a half. 

 With respect to the distances, it may be 

 inserted in the row, of the Dwarfs, two in 

 an inch ; Blues and other middle-sized 

 varieties for the main crops, three in two 

 inches ; the tall and Knight's Marrowfat, 

 as well as others of similar stature, full 

 an inch apart. The best mode is to sow in 

 single rows, ranging north and south, 

 and the sticks alternately on each side 

 of the row. If the rows range east and 

 west, put the sticks on the south side. 



When the summer sowings are made, 

 if dry weather is prevalent, the seed 

 should be soaked in water for two or 

 three hours previous, and the drills well 

 watered. 



When the plants have advanced to a 

 height of two or three inches, they are 

 to be hoed, and earth drawn around their 

 stems. This should be done twice or 

 three times gradually as they ascend, 

 previous to the sticks being placed. It 

 should be performed in dry weather; for 



the winter-standing crops it should be 

 especially attended to, as it protects them, 

 greatly from frost. 



Sticking is not required until the plants 

 show their tendrils. If, during the time 

 of blossoming or swelling of the fruit, 

 continued drought should occur, water 

 may very beneficially be 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 injurious. Failures in the rows 

 of the earliest crops may be rectified by 

 transplanting. This is best performed 

 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 matu- 

 rity of the fruit. Too much care cannot 

 be taken, when the pods are gathered, 

 not to injure the stems. We know, from 

 lengthened experience, that if the pods 

 are cut off with scissors, the plants pro- 

 duce one-fourth more than when roughly 

 gathered from. 



The more regularly the plants are ga- 

 thered 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; ropes or twisted straw-bands 

 are good for this purpose, to be fixed 

 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, other- 

 wise the plants will be spindled and ren- 

 dered weaker. 



To obtain Seed, leave some rows that 

 are in production during July, or sow 

 purposely in March. Care must be taken, 

 however, that no two varieties are in 

 blossom near each other at the same 

 time. The plants intended for seed ought 

 never to be gathered from. When in 

 blossom, all plants which do not appear 

 to belong to the variety among which 

 they are growing should be removed. 

 They are fit for harvesting as soon as the 

 pods become brownish and dry. When 

 perfectly free from moisture, they should 

 be beaten out, otherwise, if hot, showery 



