332 



GARDEN FARMING 



and enable the plant to climb by clinging to objects within their 

 reach. The base of the leafstalk is surrounded by a broad, clasp- 

 ing stipule larger than any of the leaflets. The flowers are borne 

 singly or in pairs on the axils of the leaves at each joint of the 

 stem, and are either white or violet in color. Sorts having colored 

 flowers can be distinguished by the small reddish circle about 

 the stem where it is clasped by the stipule. The seeds of peas 

 having violet-colored flowers are always more or less splashed or 

 tinged with brown. These varieties are rejected for table purposes 

 because of the unattractive grayish color of the peas when cooked 

 and because of their less delicate flavor. They are found chiefly 

 among sorts grown for stock food. Most of the table varieties 

 of peas have white flowers, and the seed is either white or green 

 when ripe. A good idea of the general character of the plant is 

 given in figure 122. 



Types of peas. Among the peas used by man for food are 

 three distinct forms : (i) those with smooth, hard seeds ; (2) those 

 with green, convolute, or wrinkled seeds, which are never very 

 hard ; and (3) those with thick pods and comparatively small 

 seeds, the pods carrying an abundance of sugar and starch and, 

 when in a green condition, being edible like the pods of beans. 

 Among the smooth-seeded peas are some of the most impor- 

 tant commercial sorts. The field peas grown for stock feeding 

 are of this class, as well as some of the most important early- 

 market sorts. The wrinkled peas, which are more delicate in nature, 

 less hardy, and less resistant to frost, while well adapted to the 

 kitchen garden, are not well suited to field conditions. The edible- 

 podded peas, of which only a limited number of varieties are now 

 in existence, are adapted only to garden culture. Figure 123 illus- 

 trates the range of variation in pea pods and the arrangement of 

 the seeds in the pods. 



Soil. Peas are grown on a great variety of soils. In general, 

 however, the growing of peas for canning and for stock food 

 must be largely confined to high or Northern latitudes, the pea 

 thriving best during the cool days of the spring and autumn 

 months. The soil best adapted to the pea is a clayey loam, or a 

 sandy loam carrying a large percentage of clay. In Southern lati- 

 tudes, where peas are produced for early markets, a sandy loam is 



