THE 164 



GARDEN YARD 



much from weeds, unless the land is infested 

 with the annual wild mustard. This will choke 

 the peas, but it may be destroyed by a spray 

 made of eight to twelve pounds of copper 

 sulphate dissolved in 50 gallons of water, when 

 the plants are only a few inches high. This 

 solution will not materially injure the peas. 



The insect enemies are the "pea weevil" 

 or "pea bug"; the pea moth, and the pea 

 louse. The pea weevil lays its eggs on the out- 

 side of the pod, and the grub, on hatching, 

 eats its way into the pea and while hiding there 

 changes into a beetle of a brownish-grey color, 

 and about one-fifth of an inch long. It does 

 not come out until after the seed has been sown 

 in the spring. This beetle spoils the pea for 

 seed and even to a large extent for stock feed. 

 Where the weevil has attacked the peas, it is 

 the custom to place the seed in air-tight vessels 

 or rooms and fumigate with bisulphide of carbon 

 for several days. The proportion is one pound 

 of bisulphide for every hundred bushels of 

 peas. Great care must be exercised in using 

 bisulphide, as it is highly explosive and very 

 poisonous. But only the careless or stupid 

 need get hurt; so there's no danger for you. 

 Get explicit directions from your nearest Ex- 

 periment Station, and follow them closely. 



