488 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



germinating power lasts for four years. This species is not so 

 acid as the other kinds of Sorrel ; it is exceedingly productive, 



Patience Dock, or Garden Patience. 



and yields a supply of leaves immediately after winter, ten or twelve 

 days, at least, before any other kind. It is grown exactly like the 

 Common Sorrel. 



PEAS 



Pisum sativum, D.C. Leguminoscs. 



French, Pois. German, Erbse. Flemish and Dutch, Erwt. Danish, Haveoert. 

 Italian, Pisello. Spanish, Guisante. Portuguese, Ervilha. 



The Pea is an annual plant, of uncertain origin, but probably 

 a native of Central Europe or the mountainous region of Western 

 Asia, as it is hardy enough to withstand the winter generally in the 

 climate of Paris. The cultivated Pea has slender hollow stems 

 which require some support to enable them to grow erect. The 

 leaves are compound, pinnate without an odd one, the leaf-stalk 

 terminating in several tendrils which take the place of the odd 

 leaflet, and enable the plant to climb by attaching themselves to 

 any object within their reach. The base of the leaf-stalk is 

 surrounded by a very broad clasping stipule, which is larger than 

 any of the leaflets. The flowers are produced in the axils of the 

 leaves, commencing almost regularly at a certain height from the 

 ground in each variety, either in pairs, or often solitary, and very 

 rarely three together, at each joint of the stem. The market- 



