March 9, 1912. 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE, 



201 



FINELY^FLAVOURED PEAS. 



(Concluded from page 17G.) 



Sowing:. 



.3Iuch of the success in the after-cultiva- 

 tion of peas depends upon the amount of 

 <are taken at the time of sowing. A plan 

 often advocated — namely, that of sowing 

 two rows of 'peas soine 6 or 8 linclies apart 

 and severa-l inches from pea to pea in the 

 row^ — is not one which works out satisfac- 

 torily in practice. In sowing early peas 

 it is always wise to give a liberal seeding, as 

 the plants are never so- robust as with late 

 varieties, and they have much more to 

 contend with as regards pests, such as 

 birxls, -^lugs, mice, etc. On light soils the 

 trenches caar he drawn out with a hoe to 

 a width of eight inches, the seed sown, and are useful -for destroying slugs; one dress- 

 the ^oil immediately replaced over it. ing, however, has little or no effect, as there 



mice, etc., for unleiss tlie latter are kept 

 £it bay the time and labour involved in 

 sowing is set at naught, and disappointment 

 will follow. Birds are a source of trouble, 

 particularly where gardens are in close 

 proximity to dwellings; the common prac- 

 tice of placing a few strands of black cot- 

 ton along the ro-ws is undoubtedly one of 

 the 'best methods of scaring smadl hirds as 

 when their wings come into contact with 

 the invisible cotton they are readily seared. 

 Soaking or damping the peas and sprink- 

 ling them over with red lead before sow- 

 although a.n old practice, is also to be 

 recommended. Slugs are by far the most 

 troiiblesome pests, and the plants require 

 continuous attention until they are well 

 above ground. 



Repeatod dressings of freshlv slaked lime 



which attain to a greater height than 18 

 inches; and in w^et weather even dwarf 

 varieties suffer where no attempt is made 

 to keep them off the ground. The proper 

 time to stake peas is when they have at- 

 tained a height of from 6 to 8 inches, at 

 which stage the soil should be drawn to- 

 wards the plants from either side of the 

 rows. Hazel branches cannot be equalled 

 for the purpose of staking; and these can 

 be purchased at a very cheap rate in win- 

 ter and spring when copse wood is being 

 cleared. In the North of England, w'here 

 less hazel is grown, branches of beech trees 

 are more commonly used, while in town 

 gardens the plants are generally supported 

 by means of wire supports or trellis work. 

 If young plants are allowed to become 

 " laid " or hroken down, tliey do not <*om- 

 pletely recover from the check thus re- 

 ceived. There is no prettier sight in the 



PKA LORD Ki n ii]:xi:i!. 



A first early wrinkled maVrow remarkable for earliness, heavy cropping^ and high qua lity, introduced by 



Messrs. J. K. King and Sons. 



be 



til 



e 



I 



in 



as 



h^rt Jl '^^^"^^^'^^ loanis should, laowever 

 or a f ' '' ^'^ latter should he expose 



>Q^sibJe before sowing. 



«itlim,.:lri!"rr P^^^ ibetter, 

 ^ o ; ,> the case of the early varieties 



tl. 1 ' P ^^'""^ ^ g^^^ter depth 



^I<'r ee 1 ' ^ ^oin^, the t^n- 



f'-om fr3' f^^' some extent, protected 

 for ■ Ji^'T T^'""' ^ '^^^^^ble depth 



in F. ^«^""g«. ^hile those 



is a sufficient coat of slime on their bodies 

 to render this quite ineffective. The 

 sprinklings of lime are best applied when 

 the slugs, are feeding or late in the evening 



Mice vive als 



:*e neatly staked 

 ro%vs of peas, and this work can only he 



where 



care 

 sticks 



grower. 



a nd 



mad 



ced 



and early in the mornmg. 

 an annoyance to the pea 

 are usually more abundant in those gardens 

 where there is ample accommodation for 

 harrbouring them. For effectually dealing 

 with these pests, I know of no better 

 method than the use of break-back 

 traps; if sufficient numbers of the latter 

 are used, -and kept properly haite<l, there 

 nee<l be no fear of thrso littlt^ trespassers 



siiceessfully accomplished 

 taken in the grading of the sticks or 

 branches to be use<l ; also to see that the 

 latter are placed at a proper angle in the 

 ground and the tops neatlv out and levelled 

 off. ^ J. C. \. 



Ii prove destructive to llu' t r(t]). 



Pests. 



'^^^'^t b,. taW . X --owing, precautions 

 ^ ot depredators, such as birds, slugs 



Staking. 



While many of the dwarfer varieties of 

 p<^as })ro(hK e an ribuiulance of pods without 

 staking, it by no niean>; follows that this 

 is a practice to be recommended for those 



Peristrophe speciosa. — Many 



acanthaceous plants fiowi-r during the winter 

 months, and this poric.tr()]>he, known also as 

 Jiistica speciosa, is one of them. It is a 

 plant of quick growth, and. potted into six- 

 inch pots, it soon forms a bushy specimen a 

 couple of feet or so in height. Tlie flowers 

 are of a bright purple colour. In many parts 

 of India this ]>eristrop]ie is, I understand, a 

 perfect weed; but in this country it is well 

 worthy of consideration where winter-flower- 

 ing plants are in demand. — W. T. 



