1880.] 
AMERICAN AGERJOULTTTRIST. 
105 
sown are 2 or 3 inches long, pull or cut out for use 
where it is thickest, and what is left will grow all 
the more rapidly. Farmers who live near markets 
will find spinach a profitable crop, especially that 
which has been wintered, though the spring sown 
will pay fairly. In ordering seeds do not forget a 
paper of “ Spinach Beet ” and of “ Improved Dan¬ 
delion.” The first named is to be sown like beets 
to give greens during the hot summer; by cutting 
the outer leaves for use, taking care not to destroy 
the central bud, it will give a continuous and 
abundant supply of most excellent greens. The 
dandelion is to give greens early next spring. It 
must make a season’s growth to get strong roots ; 
these are to be thinned, or better, transplanted to a 
foot apart, and next spring they will give an 
abundant supply of greeus as much better than 
the wild plants as one can imagine. Try it! 
The Honey Locust Hedge. 
Having described the Honey Locust last month, 
we now consider the method of making a hedge. 
One can start with the seeds, or purchase young 
trees from the nurseries. Of course it is cheapest, 
so far as outlay is concerned, to begin with seeds. 
If one can afford to buy the plants he will gain a 
year, or perhaps two, in making the hedge. 
Sowing the Seeds .—In our only experience with 
them, the seeds had been kept all winter in the 
pods ; they were taken from the pods and sown at 
once, coming up as readily as beans. Purchased 
seeds may have become too dry, and it will be 
safest to soak them by pouring on warm water and 
allowing them to remain in the water for about 24 
hours. A seed-bed of good light soil should be 
prepared, and the seeds sown as if they were beans, 
dropping them about 3 inches apart in the drill. 
The rows, if to be worked by hand, may be 15 
inches apart, and twice that distance if a horse cul¬ 
tivator is to be used. During the season the young 
trees are to be well cared for by working between 
the rows and pulling up the weeds that appear in 
the rows. If any plants are crowded by too thick 
sowing, thin them while quite young. 
Setting the Hedge .—Usually the plants will be large 
enough when one-year-old, but if they have not 
made a strong giowth they may be allowed to grow 
another year. Nurserymen furnish the plants at 
one or two years old as may be desired. The first 
thing to be done with the plants, whether home- 
raised or purchased, is to assort them according to 
size, making two or three sizes. The object of 
this is to secure uniformity in the hedge ; if a small 
plant is set between two large ones, the larger 
plants will keep the advantage, and there will be a 
weak place in the hedge. Besides assorting, the 
plants must be prepared by trimming, cutting back 
the long tap-root, and shortening the tops by cut¬ 
ting off the maid stem and larger branches about 
one-half. This is very important, the object being 
to make the plant branch near the ground, which 
it will not do if the tops are all left on. In these 
operations, do not expose the roots to the air more 
than is necessary. The line of the hedge should be 
well plowed, and harrowed, but no manure will be 
needed ; it should be a well prepared bed about 4 
feet wide, in the center of which the hedge is to be 
set. It is very important that the hedge be set 
straight, and this can be best secured by stretching 
a line as a guide in planting. The plants are to be 
set 8 inches apart, and may be put in with a dib¬ 
ble, a large trowel, or by opening a cut with the 
spade, whichever method the planter may be most 
familiar with A proper hedge—thick at the bot¬ 
tom—can only be made in four or five years, and it 
must have each year a severe cutting back, which 
should begin the first fall, cutting the plants back 
to a hight proportioned to their growth. But of 
this it is not our purpose to treat at present. To 
answer some inquirers, we may say that in locali¬ 
ties where the Osage Orange is perfectly hardy, we 
should prefer it to Honey Locust, on account of 
its greater beauty if for no other reason ; but there 
is a wide belt where it is uncertain, and still an¬ 
other where it will not endure the winters, and in 
these the Honey Locust is the most available of all 
hedge plants thus far tested. It has been objected 
that the Honey Locust is not suited to hedge-mak¬ 
ing because it is naturally a large tree, and can not 
be dwarfed without injury. The objection is en¬ 
tirely without weight, as we know that it has been 
in successful use for over 30 years ; besides the 
same applies to the Osage Orange which, when 
it has a chance, will grow to a tree 60 feet in hight. 
Peas in Plenty. 
“ This is not a pea country,” said an English¬ 
man to us, and he was right, it is not in the sense 
that England is, where they can take picking after 
picking from the same vines. The hot sun that 
gives us our green corn and tomatoes, which Eng¬ 
lish gardens cannot have, puts an end to our peas. 
But we can have them in abundance during their 
short season, and should have them in far greater 
plenty than we do. Farmers are apt to be content 
with two or three messes, and many find it too much 
trouble to grow them at all. One great obstacle to 
an abundance of peas, is the necessity for sticking 
or brushing them, but that, as we shall presently 
show, may be for the most part avoided. The great 
point with early peas is to start early; select a piece 
of light, dry soil, all the better if it slopes to the 
south, and just so soon as it can be worked, plow 
and harrow it, furrow out rows at least 6 inches 
deep, 3 feet apart for dwarfs, and 4 feet for the 
taller kinds. Then scatter a good supply of the 
best and finest manure in the furrow, and sow the 
peas upon the manure, if well rotted ; if not, cover 
the manure with an inch or so of soil. Then by the 
use of the rake or hoe, cover to the depth of 3 
inches. Some cover only an inch at first, and as 
the plants show themselves, gradually draw in the 
earth, until the seed is 4 or 5 inches deep; the 
deeper, the better the plants will stand hot weather. 
Varieties .—One who looks at a catalogue, finds a 
puzzling list of names, and it may help him to know 
that for the earliest peas, there are several names 
for what is essentially one and the same pea. Those 
not familiar with the matter, should know that 
there are two kinds of peas, the round and the 
wrinkled, and that there is as much difference be¬ 
tween them in quality, as between field corn and 
sweet corn. The earliest peas are round. The 
wrinkled peas, if wet weather comes after sowing, 
will rot in the ground. Then again, there are dwarf 
and tall sorts of both kinds ; the dwarfs are a foot 
or less high, the others grow from 2 to 5 or more 
feet. It need hardly be said that the tall kinds pro¬ 
duce more from the same land, as they have the 
most vine ; though the dwarfs may be planted 
closer, they, so far as our experience goes, are not 
so satisfactory as the others. Great claims are made 
for some of the newer dwarfs, that we have not yet 
tried. For general use, “ Daniel O’Rourke,” and 
“Carter’s First Crop,” are the best very early. Then 
comes “Alpha,” the earliest of all the wrinkled peas. 
For the main crop, no pea is better than “Champion 
of England,” and probably none ever will be. This 
should not be sown until the ground is dry and 
warm, or the seed may rot. “Bishop’s Long Pod” 
is intermediat e between the early and “Champion,” 
but a second sowing of “Alpha,” a fortnight after 
the first, will do well for an intermediate crop. 
About Binshing .—None of the market gardeners 
brush their peas, and while we would give brush 
or other support if practicable, as affording better 
crops, and easier picking, yet one should uot go 
without peas because he cannot stick them. When 
the peas come up, the ground should be kept clean 
with the horse cultivator, or garden plow, and if 
any weeds come up in the rows, pull them out; 
when the peas are about 6 inches high, throw a 
furrow with a small plow towards them on each 
side. When they begin to fall over, turn them all 
to one side, and let them lie on the ground. Every 
two or three days, turn them over to the other side 
of the row, especially after a rain; this is done 
very rapidly by using a hoe-handle, or similar stick, 
running it under them, and turning over several feet 
of the row at once. The “ Champion of England ” 
should, if possible, have some kind of support, as 
that is longer in growing, is taller, and yields more 
pickings. If brush cannot be had, use cord or 
wire stretched between stout stakes or costs. 
Fig. 1.— “LARGE POP.” 
Pop-Corn and Its Varieties. 
For some reason there have been of late an unu¬ 
sual number of inquiries concerning Pop-Corn. 
These come in part from those who would cultivate 
it for their own use, and in part from those who, 
having an impression that it is especially profitable, 
would engage in its culture as a business operation. 
As to this aspect of its culture—its profit, it is dif¬ 
ficult to get at statistics, 
but from the fact that 
there are some persons 
who raise it year after 
year as a regular crop, we 
infer that it pays some¬ 
what better than ordinary 
corn. As with all articles 
of produce, the supply of 
which is not regular, the 
price varies a great deal, 
it being some times twice 
or three times as high as at others, and those who 
grow it regularly, by taking advantage of times of 
scarcity, may make it pay in the long run. As to 
its culture, it is scarcely different from that of or¬ 
dinary corn, but being smaller, may be planted 
closer. A light, warm and dry soil, and some stim¬ 
ulating fertilizer give the best results. It is most 
frequently sown in drills, which are 30 inches apart, 
and the stalks 15 to 18 inches apart in the drill. 
The Varieties .—There are but four recognized by 
dealers, though occasionally others are met with, 
but do not appear regularly in the market. The 
leading kinds are “Large Pop” (fig. 1), “Rice” 
(fig. 2,) “ Shaker ” (fig. 3), and “ Maynard ” (fig. 4.) 
The first and third 
are the same so 
far as the size and 
color of the kernel 
go, but the “ Large 
Pop” has 10 rows 
and a longer ear, 
while the “Shaker” 
has usually but 8 
rows. The ‘ ‘ May¬ 
nard” isl6-rowed, 
with much smaller 
kernels, which are 
whiter, and of a 
pearly appearance. 
The “Rice” com has very sharp-pointed kernels, 
giving the ear a peculiar ridged appearance; 
the rows, usually more or less irregular, are 
about 16, but often break up and run into one an¬ 
other. The diagrams give the real as well as the 
comparative size of the kernels and ears. As to 
which of these is best, we are unable to say ; more 
seems to depend upon the condition of the corn 
than upon the variety, and those who are in the 
pop-corn business, always test the samples and pur¬ 
chase that which suits them without regard to va¬ 
riety. In popping samples of each, we could see 
Fig. 2.— the “ RICE. 
3.— THE “SHAKER.” Fig. 4.— “MAYNARD.” 
scarcely any difference in quality. The yield, with 
a good crop, is said to be about as many bushels of 
ears of pop-corn as the same land would produce 
in bushels of ordinary shelled corn. It is always 
sold in the ear, and by weight, the price varying 
from one cent up to three cents per pound, but oc¬ 
casionally, when there is a scarcity, the price is con¬ 
siderably higher. The crop is not one to be com¬ 
mended to those who are in a hurry for the returns 
from their labor, as it can not be sold until it has 
been kept several months, and it is all the better if 
it has been kept for a year. The ability to pop is 
not fully developed until the com is thoroughly sea¬ 
soned. The drying may be hastened by artificial 
means, as we have had corn pop well when kept in a 
warzs *or only two months after harvesting. 
