334 GARDEN FARMING 



the soil chiefly depended upon for this crop. At the North, how- 

 ever, where large quantities are produced for canning purposes, 

 and by the market gardener for local consumption, the soil selected 

 is usually a retentive clayey loam. This holds moisture well and 

 is cooler than the sandy soils, and for this reason has a tendency 

 to keep the plants growing longer, an advantage for the market or 

 the family garden. The longer the vines can be maintained in a 

 growing condition, the longer the fruiting season, particularly with 

 the large-growing, wrinkled varieties. The smooth, hard-seeded 

 sorts have a more determinate habit of growth, and soil influences 

 are therefore less marked. The same soil conditions apply equally 

 to the early dwarf sorts having wrinkled seeds, such as the Amer- 

 ican Wonder. 



Preparation of the soil. The soil should be deeply stirred and 

 enriched by the application of liberal quantities of stable manure 

 and, if necessary, of commercial fertilizer. Deep cultivation, how- 

 ever, is the important factor, for in order to have peas stand for a 

 considerable period, it is necessary that the seed be planted deep. 

 Repeated experiments have been made along this line, and it is 

 now an established fact that if peas can be planted 3, 4, or even 

 6 inches deep, a larger crop and a longer period of harvest will 

 result than if the planting is shallow. It is therefore the practice 

 of the best market and private gardeners to plant peas, especially 

 the wrinkled sorts, comparatively deep, even if the trench in which 

 they are planted is not entirely filled at the time of sowing the 

 seed. Four inches is not an unusual depth for covering this crop, 

 and in order to plant the seeds to this depth, it is necessary to have 

 a seed bed 8 or 10 inches in depth. In preparing the soil for a 

 crop which needs to be planted both early and deep, it is a good 

 practice to run a disk harrow over it before it is plowed. This has 

 a tendency to break up and loosen the surface soil, causing it to 

 dry more quickly than if left undisturbed. It also leaves a layer of 

 well-pulverized soil on the bottom of the furrow after plowing, so 

 that when the disk harrow or other cultivator has been run through 

 it, the whole thickness of the furrow slice becomes pulverized and 

 accessible for the use of the roots of the plants. This system of 

 cultivation is one of the most effective for deepening the seed bed 

 known to the writer. 



