54 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



switching the side branches off on both 

 sides, as if switching a hedge. We have 

 had snch in use for six years. 



Whichever of these be employed, they 

 should be stuck firmly in along both sides 

 of the crop; and if placed in a slanting 

 direction, so much the better for the ten- 

 drilled branches attaching themselves to 

 them. They should be of equal height, 

 and all straggling side twigs should be 

 cut off for appearance sake. 



Considerable advantage arises from top- 

 ping the plants when they have shown a suf- 

 ficient number of blossoms. This stops the 

 growth of the haulm, and diverts the whole 

 energy of the plants to the formation and 

 development of the pods. In dry weather, 

 pease often require water ; indeed, a good 

 soaking to all crops in warm dry weather, 

 whether they appear to require it or not, 

 will be found of great advantage in pre- 

 venting mildew and swelling out the crop. 

 A humid climate suits the pea, and hence 

 the longer continuance of our crops in Scot- 

 land than in the southern parts of England. 



Soil and manure. — The pea comes earliest 

 to maturity in light rich soils abounding 

 in humus ; hence the practice of adding 

 decomposed leaves or vegetable mould to 

 the roots at transplanting has the bene- 

 ficial effects stated above. For general 

 crops, a rich hazel loam, or deep rich allu- 

 vial soil, is next best; but for the most 

 abundant of all, a strong loam, inclining 

 to clay. For early crops, mild manure, 

 such as leaf-mould, should be used, unless 

 the soil is not exceedingly poor. If the 

 soil is very poor, stronger manure should 

 be employed. For general crops a good 

 dressing may be given ; and for the dwarf 

 kinds, such as Hair's mammoth, Bishop's 

 new long pod, the soil can hardly be too 

 rich. If poor, they do little good, parti- 

 cularly if, in addition to this, they be 

 thickly planted. 



The crop should be gathered as it be- 

 comes fit for use, for if even a few of them 

 begin to ripen, young pods will not only 

 cease to form, but those partly advanced 

 will cease to enlarge. 



Gypsum has been applied to pease as an 

 auxiliary to farmyard manure, and the ad- 

 vantage is marked; and we have no doubt 

 that, if it were applied as a top-dressing 

 to the rows, at the rate of one cwt., and 

 at a cost of about 3s., to a quarter of an 

 acre, during the early stages of their 



growth, much benefit would result from 

 its application in that way' and at that 

 period. It has much improved crops suf- 

 fering from mildew, and those which have 

 come up ill, or which have been injured 

 by late spring frosts. It is more imme- 

 diate in its effects when applied either 

 before or during rain. Top-dressing with 

 nitrate of soda has also been found of ad- 

 vantage under similar circumstances. The 

 best manure, however, to be applied to 

 pease, provided the ground stands in need 

 of enrichment, is guano ; and we may 

 once for all remark here, that, of all 

 special manures, it is the best for almost 

 all garden crops. It contains the ingre- 

 dients required by most plants, and just 

 in the proper state. We have used it 

 with great advantage by following the 

 practice of the Peruvians, who apply it to 

 crops at three different times — viz., at the 

 time of sowing, again when the plant is 

 nearly half-grown, and a third time just 

 previous to the ripening of the seed. With 

 pease we have strewn a small quantity 

 along the bottoms of the drills, which 

 were drawn about 2 inches deeper than 

 usual. This was mixed with soil, and 

 about 2 inches of the common soil 

 placed over it, upon which the pease were 

 sown, and covered up in the usual man- 

 ner. The quantity used was three pints 

 of guano to a row 50 feet in length. The 

 soil was dry at the time of sowing, and 

 for a week afterwards, when genial show- 

 ers fell, which we calculated would begin 

 to render the guano soluble about the 

 time the young rootlets had penetrated 

 to its whereabouts. The plants grew 

 stronger than those in the adjoining rows, 

 which were not thus treated, and con- 

 tinued to keep the lead of them. When 

 about a foot in height (the sort was 

 Bishop's new long pod), \\ pints of 

 guano were dissolved in a tub of water 

 containing 100 quarts: the row was wa- 

 tered with it. Just as we had gathered 

 the first dish of pease, a similar quantity 

 was applied. The pease continued to pro - 

 duce pods three weeks longer than the 

 neighbouring rows, and the pods were 

 much better filled and the pease larger, 

 the joints of the straw much closer toge- 

 ther, and the stems of the straw itself 

 nearly half as thick again as under ordi- 

 nary circumstances. Applying the guano 

 dry under ground prevents the escape of 



