466 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Juno 30, 1863. 



for a wet season induces them to grow taller, and a dry Beason 

 dwarfer. But the main point of all in sticking Peas is to place 

 them firmly in the soil. If placed bo that they move to and fro 

 in a gale, well-filled pods need not be looked for. The pea- 

 haulm is so brittle and so liable to be broken, that good twiggy 

 sticks, and firm set, is a main point in Pea-growing. Sticks for 

 sorts growing 3 feet high should be 4 feet long, and all 1 foot 

 longer than their height, so as to allow for the part thrust 

 into the soil, and a little above, to meet the exigencies of the 

 season. 



Sow another crop on the 15th of March, employing Scimitar 

 and Perfection (Veitch), allowing 4 feet between the rows. On 

 1st of April sow Perfection and Flack's Imperial Victory; again 

 on the 15th sow Alliance, and on the 1st of May, and 15th of 

 same, a sowing of Perfection to be made. June 1st, sow Hairs' 

 Dwarf Mammoth, and on the 15th, the Prizetaker, synonyme 

 Bellamy's Improved Early Green Marrow. Finally, sow Bishop's 

 Dwarf, and Burbridge's Eclipse on the 1st of July. The follow- 

 ing table will show at a glance, the beginning, half-way distance, 

 and the end: — 



Weeks Re- 

 quired to 

 Mature from 

 sowing in 

 Time of Average Height 



Sowing. Sort. Seasons. in Feet. 



Feb 15 (Early Prolific 16* 2 



M „, , (gangster's No. li " '* 6 



fllarcQ L t B i s l">P'= Longpod 18 2J— 3 



■njr V1 - (Scimitar 17 3| 



Marchl; ' {perfection 18 / 



.„„., . (Perfection 17 4 



apm x \ Flack's Victory 16 3 



April 15 Alliance 14 3 



May 1 Perfection 16 4 



May 15 ditto 16 3 



June 1 Hairs' Mammoth. - 16 3 



June 15 Prizetaker 14 4 



13 2£-3 



14 2i-3 



T , . /Bishop's Longpod 



Jmy i lEclipse 



All the varieties except Prolific (Dillistone's), which yields its 

 pods together, will continue in bearing for fourteen days, and 

 the late kinds to nearly six weeks. Stick, earthing previously, 

 advancing crops, and in dry weather pour water freely — a 

 drenching twice a-week ; but if dribblings can only be given, 

 sprinkle the haulms through a fine-rosed watering-pot. They 

 are sure to be refreshed a little by the operation. Copious 

 waterings prolong the bearing much, and weak guano or manure 

 water is a good stimulant in dry weather, provided enough be 

 given to reach the roots. 



When the crop is fit to gather (which is when the Peas are 

 not so young as to be after boiling a hollow inside filled with 

 water, nor so old as to be mealy, bui just between the two, and 

 when nicely boiled will melt in the mouth like so much buttei), 

 do not pluck the pods off, for a sudden jerk frequently breaks 

 the pea-haulm to the great injury of the remaining pods. A 

 pair of scissors in the hand of the amateur will enable him to 

 gather his Peas without injuring the remaining pods better than 

 can be done with the hand by the initiated. Barren and half- 

 filled pods more frequently are caused by the careless manner in 

 which Peas are gathered than anything else. I have seen a 

 flourishing crop of Peas after the first pickiog with the haulms 

 broken, wrenched, and twisted about, and heard the owner 

 complain of the weather preventing his Peas filling. When the 

 pea haulm gets bent, to say nothing of broken, well-filled pods 

 need not be looked for. 



No good results from allowing pea-haulms to remain on the 

 ground after the crop is gathered, but positive injury. They are 

 an eyesore, and rob the soil of the benefit derived from exposure 

 to the sun and air : therefore, remove all the haulm immediately 

 the whole crop is gathered, and manure, trench, and dig the 

 ground ready for the next crop ; but as an amateur mostly pays 

 for his garden ground by the yard instead of, as in the country, 

 by the acre, it behoves him to look well after his fallows, and so 

 keep every inch of ground under crop. I am one of the very 

 few gardeners who contend vegetable-growing ought to pay, and 

 I consider a writer's argument that few gardeners can, or em- 

 ployers expect, or amateurs wish, to make their gardens pay an 

 absurdity. There is the gratification derived from gardening 

 pursuits ; but very few employers indeed would have a garden 



* There is nearly a fortnight difference between these varieties. Prolific 

 heme: the earliest. Ir sown in or alter April the varieties are only eleven 

 ■weeks Irom sowing to the ports being fit to gather. We have allowed for 

 toe time uf the year in all cases. 



if it cost more than the produce is worth, and many amateurs 

 purchase their vegetables because they find it more profitable to 

 do so than to grow them. A writer bringing out an idea 

 with a flourish of trumpets in fruit or vegetable matters, and 

 acting on the idea, "nobody expects gardening to pay," not 

 only deceiveB himself but those who make gardening a profitable 

 recreation. 



Few amateurs grow Peas because writers tell them they can 

 purchase them cheaper than they can grow them. I ask those 

 who have been thus influenced to grow Peas but for one year ; 

 and if they do not like the Peas of their own growing better, 

 because more sweet, tender, and well-flavoured than those pur- 

 chased and for half the money, reckoning nothing for passing a 

 few delightful hours in garden pursuits after the busy duties of 

 the shop and office are over, set me down for a bungler. If 

 the vegetables grown do not save the bread loaf, prevent the 

 necessity for physic, place a stumbling-block before the dram 

 and beershop door, and give smiling wives and happy homes, I 

 will on evidence from the mouth of one witness make a public 

 retractation and apology. 



The land that we daily see set apart for building-ground lying 

 idle for years, would, if properly fenced in, let readily to artisans 

 and others for garden purposes, and yield good interest to the 

 owner for the little money expended in fencing ; whereaB, as it 

 is at present, it only forms a playground for the gambler. The 

 difficulty in obtaining garden ground in towns, and the very 

 little encouragement given to the cottage and amateur gardener 

 by horticultural societies, is a great hindrance to town-gardening. 

 Many horticultural societies that were formed to promote and 

 encourage a love for gardening amongst cottagers and amateurs, 

 have been perverted to serve the interest of the gardener. As a 

 gardener, I hold this to be an injustice to those that contribute 

 to the funds, and a direct discouragement to the amateur and 

 cottage gardener. I do not see the propriety of giving £10 for 

 twelve stove and greenhouse plants to be competed for by gentle- 

 men's gardeners and nurserymen by a provincial society whose 

 professed aim is to promote a love for garden recreations 

 amongst the working classes. If those plants are shown as 

 specimens at which the amateur is to aim, I must confess that it 

 is as bad as teaching a child Euclid before he has learnt the 

 alphabet. A few good prizes given by such society for subjects 

 that any amateur can grow as well as gentlemen's gardeners is, 

 no doubt, good ; but to get subscriptions under the condition 

 that they are to be applied to the object for which the society 

 was founded, and fully two-thirds of the subscriptions appro- 

 priated to be competed for by gentlemen's gardeners, leaving but 

 one-third to be competed for by amateurs and cottagers, is as 

 wanton as it is wrong. I do not wish to hurt any one's feelings, 

 but to give, as a public writer ought, a clear statement of cir- 

 cumstances that hinder or promote the interests of that we all 

 seek — the advancement of horticulture. 



Large prizes in any such society not only hinder many ama- 

 teurs and cottagers for competing, but tend to make the 

 amateur's garden a costly appendage, for he aims at growing 

 things that are totally beyond his means, and so instead of being 

 a blessing it becomes an injury. But these matters are so foreign 

 to Pea-growing that I must leave them until a favourable oppor- 

 tunity offers ; still, as they tend to make gardens costly, I wish 

 to put the saddle on the right horse and not on the primest of 

 garden vegetables. I will endeavour to show that Peas are a 

 paying crop even where land is high-rented. 



I have not allowed anything for time and labour, for I con- 

 sider the time and labour so spent more like pleasure than any- 

 thing else, and I think that any individual will agree with me that 

 the pleasure derived f.om gardening ib more profitable than the 

 alluring and deceiving delights of the many attractions and 

 temptations in which towns abound, 

 d 



Dr. £ s. 



Good garden ground can 

 hardly be had near large 

 towns under Id. per yard 

 per annum, and, as the 

 annexed rough sketch 

 will show, 100 yards aie 



taken up with Peas 8 



5 quarts Peas 5 



Manure for allcrops 10 



Pea-sticks 7s. 6d., half for 



one year's wear and tear 3 

 Celery plants. Cauliflower, 

 and small seeds 5 



£1 12 7 



Cr. £ a. 



30 pecks of Peas at Is. per 

 peck (but where can 

 they he bought for the 

 money!) 1 10 



216 sticks of Celery at £d. 

 each 9 



60 Cauliflowers at Id. each 6 5 



15 dishes of Greens at l\d. 

 each 



12 dishei of Spinach at 2d. 

 each 



4 quarts Strawbenies 



Lettuce, Radishes, Ac, not 

 dear at 



1 104 



2 

 2 8 



2 6 



£2 13 04 



