68 CULTURE OF THE SWEET PEA 



gree of his stock and if he has done his 

 work thoroughly he can depend on a crop 

 true to type. 



The season of harvest varies. Cutting, 

 which is done with the mower, usually 

 commences in July. Judgment must be 

 exercised as to the proper time for har- 

 vest. , The vines are ordinarily cut when 

 it is considered that most of the pods are 

 ripe. Immediately after cutting, the vines 

 are piled on large pieces of canvas which 

 are placed on the ground where the crop 

 has been growing. These sheets are gen- 

 erally forty feet square. When the vines 

 are thoroughly dry the thrasher and sepa- 

 rator are hauled to the patch and a port- 

 able gasoline engine supplies the driving 

 power. The fields of sweet peas are so 

 planned that the thresher will not by any 

 chance let any seed drop elsewhere than 

 on the area occupied by the variety. After 



