480 THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
The flower of the variety selected as the seed 
parent should be secured some time before it 
approaches the opening stage, as, if not operated 
upon at the right time, it may become self- 
fertilized. Having selected the two varieties 
of Peas to be crossed, the operator caretully 
Fig. 1247.—Pisum sativum, tall form. 
opens the undeveloped petals of the seed parent, 
removing delicately and carefully by means of 
forceps the undeveloped anthers upon which 
appear the pollen grains, but which at this 
stage are not active. The next process is to 
take the other bloom selected just as the pollen 
grains are maturing upon the anthers, and by 
the assistance of a fine camel’s-hair brush care- 
fully dust with pollen the stigma of the seed- 
bearing blossom; when the viscid substance 
upon the stigma dissolves the pollen grains 
they pass into a tube below, the lower end 
of which is connected with each ovule con- 
tained in the ovary; and as the dissolved grains 
pass into the ovules fertilization is com- 
pleted. 
The operation thus performed, the 
operator carefully covers up the stigma 
with the petals of the flower to prevent 
contact by the elements, or by insect 
agency, &c., and the fertilized blossom 
is covered with a thin piece of muslin 
or cotton shading. 
The act of crossing has been: per- 
formed with marked success, and the 
changes thus brought about will mani- 
fest themselves in successive genera- 
tions. Supposing a fertilized pod pro- 
duces six seeds, and if each of the six 
seeds be sown and they germinate, and 
the produce of each of the six seeds be 
sown by themselves, it is pretty certain 
each row, though sown with seeds which 
are the produce of an undivided plant, 
would produce plants showing great 
diversity in habit of growth, earliness, 
and in the character of the pod and 
seeds. As a general rule, after reaching 
this point it is necessary to select the 
most promising plant in each of the six 
rows, and by succeeding selections fix 
the character of the particular variety. 
It very likely happens that the best 
type obtained from a particular cross 
is found in selections made in the fourth 
and fifth year after the cross was made. 
CULTIVATION. 
Soil.—For the main crop of Peas a 
rich friable loam is best, in the compo- 
sition of which lime is a principal ingre- 
dient; and if the soil does not naturally 
contain a sufficiency of calcareous mat- 
ter, the latter should be added to it in 
the shape of lime, chalk, gypsum, &e. 
It should be deep, so that the roots may 
easily penetrate downwards to obtain moisture 
in time of drought, as, if the plants once get too 
dry after they have commenced to blossom, 
the pods never fill well. For early crops, and 
especially for the very earliest, a warm, rather 
sandy loam is desirable, because earliness rather 
than abundance is the desideratum. The ground 
in all cases should be well drained, and the sur- 
