490 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Pea {Pois Michaux) is the kind most used about Paris for sowing 

 in autumn, on which account it has obtained the name of 

 St. Catherine's Pea. These November sowings might also be very 

 advantageously made in kitchen-gardens, in which case the seed 

 should be sown in a border at the bottom of a wall with a south 

 aspect. It is exceedingly early, very dwarf, takes up very little 

 room, and there is no need to bend down its stems with laths or 

 cross-bars, as was formerly done when, before its introduction, tall 

 or half-dwarf varieties were grown in frames. 



Successional sowings in the open air should be made all through 

 the spring in order to ensure a continuous supply through the 

 summer. After the early varieties, the next sowings consist of tall 

 kinds, which are later, more productive, and less liable to suffer 

 from mildew during hot weather. The Clamart Pea and the tall 

 varieties of Wrinkled Peas are particularly good kinds for late 

 sowings, the crop from which comes in at the end of summer or 

 early in autumn. 



In kitchen-gardens, tall Peas are staked with branches of trees, 

 chestnut-loppings being mostly used for this purpose in the vicinity 

 of Paris ; but when grown in the open fields, they are seldom 

 staked, on account of the cost of labour which the operation would 

 involve. In the absence of stakes, the stems of the Peas are 

 pinched off just above the fifth or sixth flower, after which they 

 grow sufficiently stiff and firm to support themselves. This 

 treatment, however, which answers very well for varieties of 

 moderate height, such as the Michaux Peas, does not suit the tall 

 kinds, such as the Tall Wrinkled Peas, and these, accordingly, are 

 not employed for field culture. 



When Peas are once well up and staked (if they require it), they 

 need no further attention except occasional watering in dry weather. 

 Transplanting is only practised with very early Peas, which are 

 raised in pots in a plant-house or under frames, to be planted out 

 as soon as winter is over, and its advantages are not quite certain. 



With every suitable appliance the 

 Pea season may extend from the 

 beginning of July till the end of 

 October, and 1 have, in exceptional 

 seasons, gathered Peas as late as 

 November loth. But those Peas 

 gathered early in May are grown 

 under glass, a nd the very late 

 Peas are, of course, mainly depen- 

 dent upon the season. The best 

 months for Peas are June and July. 

 In warm situations the produce of 

 the early south border begins to turn 



in about the end of May, and green 

 Peas are common enough in June, 

 but July is the month for excellent 

 Marrow Peas. In August and Sep- 

 tember, unless the land is good and 

 the treatment very liberal and first- 

 rate in every respect, the Peas are 

 very likely to fall away, and if they 

 do not cease to bear, the pods lose 

 their fresh green colour, and the peas 

 in the pods are infested with 

 maggots, and if mildew makes its 

 appearance the chapter of ills is 



