PEAS 



1527 



Pisum sutivum 



The pea is an annual plant of imcei- 

 tain origin, but probably a native of Cen- 

 tral Europe. The flowers are either white 

 or violet colored, but the most desirable 

 garden kinds, almost without exception, 

 bear white flowers. 



Varieties of peas are divided into three 

 classes, those having wrinkled seed, those 

 having round, small seed, and those hav- 

 ing edible pods. Wrinkled seeded varie- 

 ties do not germinate as well as the 

 smooth-skinned or round sorts, nor do 

 their germinating powers last so long, nor 

 are they so hardy in resisting the adverse 

 conditions of early spring. On account 

 of the latter reason, gardeners plant the 

 round seed first in the spring, and do not 

 plant the wrinkled kinds until the soil is 

 in best condition and somewiiat warm. 

 The wrinkled kinds are better in quality 

 than the round and smooth varieties 

 Peas having edible pods are not popular 

 in this country, probably because of the 

 ease with which string beans are growm. 



Culture 



Peas may be grown successfully in 

 almost any good soil; they even do well 

 on rather poor soil. The kinds having 

 smooth seeds should be planted as soon 

 as the ground can be worked in the spring 

 — even a hard freeze does not hurt the 

 plants as they are coming out of the 

 ground, and they will stand considerable 

 frost when well up. The distance betw^een 

 the rows and the seeds in the row depends 

 somewhat on the kinds grown. Some 

 kinds branch out far more than others 

 and, consequently, need more room in the 

 row. They also vary in length of stem 

 from a few inches to six or seven feet. 

 The tall kinds require the rows to be five 

 or six feet apart, while dwarf varieties 

 are generally planted in rows thirty 

 inches to three feet apart. The growing 

 of tall kinds is mostly confined to private 

 gardens, where it is customary to use 

 brush or other material in the rows for 

 support. Formerly, among tall varieties, 

 were those far excelling in quality any- 

 thing found among those of a dwarf 

 habit, but recent introductions of the lat- 



ter kinds ha\e shown a great impro\e- 

 ment in quality, until now the dwarf sorts 

 are generally gro\An, even bv the most 

 tastidious. In common practice, the seed 

 is sown about tour inches deep, in rows 

 three feet apart, putting about ten seeds 

 to each foot of row\ It is best to sow 

 plenty of seed in order to secure a good 

 stand. The land should be well culti- 

 vated between the rows. Unleached wood 

 ashes or some other fertilizer rich in pot- 

 ash and phosphoric acid is most beneficial 

 for this crop. As it belongs to the leg- 

 uminous section of plants, it is a nitrogen 

 producer and, consequently, does not need 

 much nitrogen in the soil. Early peas as 

 generally grown are out of the way in 

 time to allow^ the land to be used for late 

 cabbage or string beans. When it is de- 

 sired to extend the season of table peas, 

 successive sowings should be made at in- 

 tervals of two weeks, up to the 10th of 

 June During the summer the vines are 

 too liable to mildew to make late spring 

 planting successful. The pea is distinct- 

 ively a cool-weather plant and on this ac- 

 count it will often do well when sown in 

 the latter part of summer for use in 

 autumn. 



The canning of peas is an important 

 industry in some sections and could be 

 more generally introduced to advantage. 

 In sowing peas for canneries it is the 

 practice in some sections to sow them 

 with a common grain drill leaving a path 

 between each strip for the pickers, 



Yarieties 



Of the many varieties only a few of the 

 best are referred to here. For very early 

 use, almost every seedman has a strain of 

 smooth, round peas, which he sends out 

 under his own peculiar name. The early 

 sorts are generally derived rrom the old 

 Daniel O'Rourke, and among them are va- 

 rieties known as the First and Best, 

 Earliest of All, and Improved Extra 

 Early. As a rule, these should be used 

 for first planting only, to be followed by 

 plantings of the wrinkled sorts. 



American Wonde?- is a very dwarf early 

 pea of unsurpassed quality and very 

 hardy for a wrinkled sort. A rich soil 

 and extra cultivation are required to get 



