LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. loj 



Plus Ultra. I must confess that the growth of these novelties is 

 generally attended with more vexation than profit. 



My gardener sows peas in trenches, like celery, which is certainly 

 of great advantage in late peas, but is of doubtful benefit in earlier 

 crops. We have tried to raise peas in pots and to transplant them in 

 spring, but the experiment has always failed, as the peas so raised 

 are tender, and perish with the slightest frost. The small early peas 

 are sown more thickly than the larger or later ones, which may be 

 sown two to three inches apart. Besides the above peas, there is a 

 curious variety without the tough lining membrane of the shell, 

 which is eaten when cooked shell and all, as French beans are. It 

 is a mere curiosity, and unworthy of serious attention. 



During winter we grow peas for their tops. A number are placed 

 in a pot and allowed to germinate in a warm house. The tops are 

 boiled, and used to flavour and colour soup. Peas are highly nutri- 

 tious when they are easily digested. Their ash contains a large pro- 

 portion of phosphates, and they require, therefore, rich soil, and one 

 of sufficient porosity for their roots to penetrate deeply to moisture. 

 Where a garden is of sufficient extent, it is desirable to plant a 

 single row by itself, as that yields the most produce : otherwise, if 

 planted in consecutive rows, there should be as great a distance 

 between the rows as the haulm is high ; — that is, peas growing four feet 

 high should be planted four feet apart, those six feet high should be 

 planted six feet apart. Tall peas should be staked as soon as they are 

 about four inches high, that the haulm may not be damaged before 

 it clings to the stick. Every part of the pea plant is useful. That 

 which man does not eat the horse and other animals will, and if peas 

 are shelled near stables there is a commotion amongst the horses, 

 as they can smell the delicious food, and will not be easy till 

 they obtain it. 



Every one who visits the Continent must be struck with the 

 difference of flavour which the commonly cultivated foreign pea 

 has, and how inferior it is to our better varieties. It is, however, 

 preserved in enormous quantities in tin cases for winter use, and is 



