v.] 



PEA. 



119 



familiarly as in England about having green peas on the King's 

 hirth-day, and were just as ambitious for accomplishing the ob- 

 ject ; and I remember a gentleman, who had been a republican 

 officer during the Revolutionary War, who told me that he always 

 got in his garden green peas fit to eat on old Uncle George s 

 hirth-day. This, however, is the general season for the coming in 

 of green peas in England ; but, to have them at this season, the 

 very earliest sort must be sowed ; they must be sowed, too, in 

 November, or as soon after as the weather will permit, and they must 

 be sowed on the south side of a wall, or of a very close and warm 

 hedge, the ground not being wet in its nature by any means. The 

 frosts will be very apt to cut them off, and, if the weather be mild, 

 they will be apt to get so forward as to be cut off in January or 

 February, They should, therefore, be kept earthed up a little on 

 both sides ; and, if hard frosts approach, they should be covered 

 with peas-haulm or straw, and these should be taken off as soon 

 as the thaw has completely taken place. It will not do to place 

 the row of peas nearer than about four feet distance from the 

 wall, because they grow high, and they would interfere with, and 

 do injury to, the fruit trees. Three or four rows of the very 

 earliest peas might be in the border e, on the south side of the 

 wall. Some more rows might be in the outer garder c, on the 

 south side of the wall there. The whole of these borders need not 

 be devoted to this purpose, but only such part of them as would 

 be deemed requisite. A second sowing should take place a month 

 or six weeks after the first ; but this may take place across the 

 plat h or g. Sow again early in March, and then once in a 

 month or three weeks, until the end of May. Too many should 

 not be sowed at a time, and less of the tall sorts than of the low 

 sorts. The manner of sowing peas is the same in all cases. You 

 make a drill with a hoe, three inches deep, in ground as rich as 

 you can make it, sow the peas along not too thick, put back upon 

 them the earth that came out of the drill, and tread it dow^n with 

 your feet pretty nearly as hard as you can, and then, especially in 

 winter-time, keep a sharp look-out after the mice. When the 

 peas come up, you ought, in all cases, to hoe the ground nicely 

 about them, and draw a little earth to them even immediately, 

 drawing up more and more earth on each side as the plants 

 advance in height, until you have, at last, a little ridge, the top of 

 which would he six or seven inches above the level of the ground ; 



