ON REARING KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



87 



they will scratch up the seed, and pigeons, sparrows, and 

 other birds must be frequently scared, or they will pull up 

 the whole of the crop after it has appeared above the 

 ground. But perhaps the enemies which are most to be 

 dreaded are mice, which frequently devour the whole crop 

 soon after it is sown, by burrowing into the groimd for it. 

 The only way to prevent this is to set a number of mouse- 

 traps, of any kind, along the side of the rows, with some 

 attractive and strong-smelling bait, into which they will 

 generally find their way, when they may be destroyed. 



Slugs and snails will also at this time devour them, and 

 ought to be sought for at night and killed, or quick-lime 

 sprinkled between the rows. The gi^een-fly, a species of 

 aphis, which attacks the crop when more advanced, may 

 perhaps be killed by a sprinkling of tobacco-tea, or the 

 leaves and tops attacked may be cut off into a dish, with 

 a pair of scissors, in order to prevent the aphides from 

 travelling away. 



Digging between the rows, particularly when the blos- 

 soms show, and earthing-up or flat-hoeing several times, 

 must be attended to as well as weeding, in the same way 

 as for a potato crop. 



It will be important, as soon as the tendrils or claspers 

 appear, to fix stakes along the rows, four feet high for 

 the dwarfs, five or six feet high for those of middling 

 height, and seven to nine feet high for the tall sorts. 

 These stakes should have as many branches or twigs on 

 them as possible ; and the young shoots or brush-wood, 

 produced from the stems of old elms, are the best for 

 this purpose. 



Pinching off the top shoots, when the second or third 

 set of blossoms appear, will promote the filling of the 

 pods. It is not advisable, in a small garden, to attempt 

 growing peas for seed. In no way indeed are peas a pro- 

 fitable crop, except where there is abundance of room to 

 spare, or when they are reared for market, where they 

 usually sell well. 



Where a very early crop of peas is required, (which, 

 however, is extremely unprofitable,) they must be sown in 

 the month of October or jSTovember, in a very sheltered 

 situation, and one which is well exposed to the south ; and 



