ON VEGETABLE CULTURE. 



1069 



secured, and then the plants are useless. For all ordinary 

 purposes seeds should be sown as early in February as the 

 weather will permit, selecting for the first crop William Hurst 

 or Chelsea Gem, neither of which usually exceeds i8in. in 

 height. They may be sown in rows that distance apart, taking 

 care to protect the young plants from sparrows as they appear, 

 and placing a few short sticks to them early, which will afford 

 some little shelter from cold winds. Towards the end of 

 February another sowing should be made of any of the following 

 varieties : Gradus, Stratagem, Sutton's Early Giant (Fig. 686), 

 and Exonian, all of which are ex- 

 cellent. The seed should not be 

 sown quite so thickly as is frequently 

 done, and should be in rows about 

 3ft. apart. From this period onwards 

 it is advisable to make fresh sowings 

 immediately the previous sowing 

 pushes through the soil, repeat- 

 ing up to the end of May or early 

 in June. The following varieties are 

 about 3ft. high, and great bearers of 

 fine handsome pods, first-rate for the 

 dining or exhibition tables; the seed 

 should be sown thinly in drills 5ft. 

 apart : The Gladstone, Veitch's Per- 

 fection, Captain Cuttle, and Boston 

 Unrivalled. For the last sowings, 

 select Ne Plus Ultra or Carter's New 

 Michaelmas ; the first of these ought 

 to be at least 6ft. from any other 

 rows of Peas, as it is a tall, strong- 

 growing variety. It is an excellent 

 plan to place a mulch of strawy 

 manure on either side of the rows 

 of Peas immediately after staking; 

 this keeps the soil cool and moist, 

 and causes the plants to remain 



vigorous and healthy, producing extra fine and well-filled pods. 

 With the exception of the first two varieties named, all the 

 others mentioned are suitable for exhibition, and, where this is 

 an object, the seeds should be very thin in the rows, say 6in. 

 apart, to allow the plants to grow up sturdy and branching, with 

 correspondingly large and firm pods. 



So numerous are the enemies to Peas that to describe them 

 would need a page or two. Chief offenders, however, are the 

 Pea Weevil (Sitona lineatus), a beetle about 5mm. in length, and 

 greyish, with yellow stripes. This feeds upon the young foliage ; 

 while the grubs, which appear later, attack the roots. Dry weather 



Fig. 686.— Sutton's Early 

 Giant Pea. 



