PEAS 337 



but are more often canned and put on the market as petit pois. Of 

 late some canners are making a great point of putting up a brand 

 of peas in which the run of the pod is used. This simply means 

 that the crop as it comes from the huller is canned without grad- 

 ing. It really gives a product better than usually obtained in the 

 No. i grade. After the peas are hulled in this manner by machin- 

 ery and graded, they are carefully washed before being placed in 

 the cans for cooking. 



A few years ago the supply of peas for canneries was grown 

 the same as are garden peas, and the pods were picked by hand 

 in the same way. This was an expensive operation and made the 

 price to the canners much higher than now, when the work is 

 done by machinery as described above. 



Strange as it may seem, the region around Baltimore, which for 

 many years was the seat of the pea-canning industry, has lost its 

 prestige, so far as the canning of this crop is concerned. The cul- 

 tivation of peas for canning is now carried on most extensively in 

 regions north of Maryland, where farm practices are followed in the 

 production of the crop. Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, 

 and New York are the states now leading in the production of 

 canned peas. 



Harvesting. The harvesting of peas for culinary purposes must al- 

 ways be carried on by hand, because it is necessary to exercise judg- 

 ment in the selection of the pods which are suitable for this purpose. 



Peas do not ship well. They soon heat if packed in receptacles 

 containing such small quantities as a bushel. When peas are to be 

 shipped any considerable distance, the receptacle now in popular 

 use is the half barrel or bushel basket, made after the fashion of 

 the Delaware peach basket a deep, narrow, or slim basket about 

 the height of an ordinary flour barrel, and 10 inches in diameter 

 at the bottom and about 18 inches at the top. Such a receptacle 

 (see figure 125) gives good ventilation and is very cheap. 



The manner of harvesting peas for canning purposes has al- 

 ready been mentioned, and its simplicity will at once appeal to the 

 commercial planter who appreciates the importance of cheapened 

 methods. The harvesting of peas for stock food or for seed is con- 

 ducted practically the same as harvesting for canning purposes, 

 except that, as a rule, the peas are allowed to mature longer. 



