NAT. ORDER. LEGUMINOS^. 
55 
Propagation and Culture. The Pea has been cultivated in this 
country from the time of its first settlement : it was first introduced 
here by the early settlers from England. Fuller informs us that 
Peas were first introduced into England from Holland, and were 
only considered fit dainties for the "lords and noblemen, as they 
came so far, and cost so dear." The use of the Pea in cookery, is 
familiar to every one. In one variety, called the Sugar Pea } the 
inner tough film of the pods is wanting, and such pods, when young, 
are frequently boiled with the seeds or peas within them, and eaten 
in the manner of kidney beans. This variety is comparatively new; 
having been introduced about the middle of the seventeenth century. 
The Pea is the most esteemed legume in field cultivation, both 
for its seed and haulm, and was cultivated by the Greeks and Ro- 
mans, in the earliest ages of history, though its culture appears to 
have diminished since the more general introduction of herbage 
plants and roots ; and excepting large towns for gathering green, 
and in some places for boiling, the Pea lias given way to the bean, 
or to a mixture of Peas and beans. There are various inducements, 
however, to the cultivation of Peas in dry warm soils, near large 
towns. When the crop is good, and gathered green, few pay better. 
The ground, after the Peas have been removed, is readily prepared 
for turnips, which also pay well as a retail crop, near towns ; and 
the haulm is good fodder. 
The soil best suited for Peas, is a dry, calcareous salt ; it should 
be in good tilth, not too rich, but light and pliable. In some parts 
of the country, Peas are often sown after clover-leys, after one fur- 
row, or after corn crops on two furrows, one given in autumn, and 
the other early in spring. 
The climate required by the Pea is dry and not very warm, for 
which reason, as the seasons in this country are so very changeable, 
and oftentimes exceedingly dry and hot in June and July, the Pea is 
one of the most uncertain of field crops. 
