PEA 



C 01* 3 



PEA 



weather occurs, they will open and shed 

 their seed. 



Forcing commences in December, in 

 the early part of which month they may 

 be sown in a hotbed to remain, or thick 

 to transplant, during the succeeding 

 month, into others for production. These 

 may be repeated in January, and the 

 transplanting takes place in February. It 

 is also a common practice to sow in a 

 warm border during October, and the 

 plants being cultivated as a natural 

 ground crop, are removed into a hotbed 

 during January. 



The hotbed must be moderate, and 

 earthed equally over the depth of six or 

 eight inches with light, fresh mould not 

 particularly rich. The seed must be 

 buried one inch and a half deep. The 

 frame, which is required to be two feet 

 and a hal high behind, and one and a 

 half in front, ought to be put on three 

 or four days before the crop is sown, that 

 the steam and heat may abate. Seed may 

 likewise be sown at the above times in 

 pots or pans, and placed round the binns 

 of the stove. At the close of September, 

 also, some peas may be sown in pots, and 

 sunk in the earth of any open compart- 

 ment ; when the frost commences, to be 

 removed into the greenhouse. A border 

 of fresh earth being made in the front of 

 it early in December, the plants are re- 

 moved into it, in rows two feet asunder, 

 or, still better, in pairs, with ten inches 

 interval, and two feet and a half between 

 each pair. These will come into produc- 

 tion about the middle of March. 



In every instance, as stated above, the 

 rows should be two feet, the seed or 

 plants being set an inch asunder. The 

 plants are ready for moving when an inch 

 or two high. They must be shaded and 

 gently watered until they have taken root. 

 Preserve as much earth about their roots 

 at the time of removal as possible. 



Transplanted peas are most produc- 

 tive, and run the least to straw in the 

 forcing frames. Air must be admitted 

 as freely as circumstances permit, the 

 same precautions being necessary as for 

 Cucumbers. Water must be given at 

 first sparingly, otherwise decay or super- 

 luxuriance will be occasioned ; but when 

 they are in blossom, and during the suc- 

 ceeding stages of growth, it may be ap- 

 plied oftener and more abundantly, as it 

 is necessary for the setting and swelling 

 of the fruit. 



The shading during hot days, and 

 covering at night, must also be particu- 

 larly attended to. From three to five 

 months elapse between the times of sow- 

 ing and production, according to the 

 fineness of the season, length of the 

 days, &c. 



The temperature may be uniformly 

 kept up throughout their growth, having 

 50 for the minimum at night, and 70 

 for their maximum by day. 



PEACH. Pe'rsica vulga'ris. 



Select Varieties in the order of their 

 ripening. Those in italics are good forc- 

 ing peaches. Acton Scot,Pourpre Hative, 

 Grosse Mignonne, Eed Magdalen, Boyal 

 George, Noblesse, Bellegarde, or Galande, 

 Late Admirable, Walburton Admirable. 



Propagation : Budding. This is per- 

 formed during July. (See BUDDING.) 

 Some persons plant the stock against the 

 wall in its permanent situation, and bud 

 it there ; but peaches are principally 

 budded in the nursery. The bud is in- 

 troduced at about six inches from the 

 ground. It remains dormant until the 

 succeeding spring, when the head of the 

 stock is cut off close above the bud, and 

 the wound pared off particularly neat, in 

 order that the returning sap may heal 

 and skin it over. It is a good practice to 

 apply some white lead, or a similar mate- 

 rial, in order to exclude the air and 

 moisture. During this summer the young 

 bud will produce a shoot of some two 

 or three feet in length, and this is headed 

 back in the succeeding spring to about 

 five or six eyes, thus leaving about five or 

 six inches of the base of the shoot. The 

 bud generally produced laterals during 

 the first summer, especially towards 

 the upper end ; and the point where these 

 commence branching generally dictates 

 the point to which they are cut back. In 

 the summer following they will produce 

 four or five shoots, which must be care- 

 fully trained, and kept totally free from 

 insects, and in the succeeding autumn 

 the tree is fit for removal to a wall. 

 Plants with one shoot, or of the season 

 next after the budding, are termed by 

 our nurserymen maidens; but in the suc- 

 ceeding summer they are termed trained 

 trees. There is no better stock for general 

 peach-budding than the Plum, a kind 

 called the Muscle being very generally 

 used. Some persons advocate the use of 

 either Almond stocks or Peaches raised 

 from the stone; but it is scarcely safe to 



