62 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
THE GARDEN CULTURE OE PEAS, 
One of the first seeds put in the ground 
by all good gardeners is the pea. Some 
even anticipate the Spring, and put in the 
early crop in the Fall, before the frost shuts 
it up. The seed is not injured by the frost, 
and any open spell in winter may be im¬ 
proved to plant this crop. It starts at a low 
temperature, and it is not uncommon to see 
a row of green peas peering through the 
snows of March. Unless actually frozen, 
they do not appear to be injured by the 
snow. As they are the earliest of the annu¬ 
als that come to the table, so they are among 
the most wholesome and warmly welcomed 
of all the products of the garden. The sea¬ 
son of this vegetable begins very early in 
this city, being brought by steamers in im¬ 
mense quantities from the South, and con¬ 
tinuing until all appetites are sated, and it is 
a drug in the market. The sources of sup¬ 
ply are from so wide an extent of country, 
and the article is so perishable, that there is 
not unfrequently a glut, and large quantities 
are sold at a sacrifice. But market garden¬ 
ers in the vicinity of the city have an advan¬ 
tage over those who ship them from a dis¬ 
tance, in # always being able to offer a fresh 
article, and these always sell at the top of 
the market price. No vegetable suffers 
more from long keeping. The delicate aro¬ 
ma and much of the sweetness are lost the 
second day after picking. 
But most of our readers are principally in¬ 
terested in raising this vegetable for their 
own tables, and it is to pea culture in pri¬ 
vate gardens that we will direct our re¬ 
marks. 
VARIETIES. 
There are several hundred upon the lists, 
many of them so closely allied in all their 
characteristics, that none but an amateur 
can tell the difference. For all practical 
purposes, a half dozen varieties are better 
than a hundred. Though we have tried nu¬ 
merous varieties, we seldom cultivate more 
than three for our own table. Among the 
early varieties that we know to be good are 
the Extra Early May, Early June. Early 
Kent, Washington, Charlton, Emperor, and 
Prince Albert.* The Dan O’Rourke, sent out 
from the Patent Office, is a very early and 
excellent pea, but all cannot get the seed of 
it this season. The others are accessible at 
the seed stores. 
About a week later than these is the 
Champion of England, which we prefer to 
any other pea we have ever grown, early or 
late. The vines are a little taller, and the 
pods much heavier, and full of a very rich, 
delicious pea. The peas shrivel as they dry. 
The Marrowfat are later still, and of 
these, there are numerous varieties, all ex¬ 
cellent. 
CULTIVATION. 
For the early varieties, we select the 
south side of a wall, or a southern or east¬ 
ern slope, where they will have the full 
* The list here given differs a little lrom our article last 
Autumn, as this is the experience of one of our asso¬ 
ciates. Of the varieties experimented upon last year, we 
had the misfortune to lose most of the seed during the 
Winter. 
benefit of the sun, and be protected from the 
north winds. We sow them in double drills, 
about six inches apart, and the peas one or 
two inches apart in the drill. We sow with 
a brush seed sower, making very rapid 
work. We leave four feet space between 
the rows. For convenience in picking, and 
for cleanliness, brush are desirable, but are 
not generally used by market gardeners, as 
they increase the labor and expense. We 
usually trench the land where we plant peas, 
working in large quantities of stable manure 
or compost. It is one of the lime plants, and 
is much benefited by applications of lime to 
the soil. 
If we wish to prolong the bearing of the 
vines, we plant the peas in a trench as for 
celery, and fill up gradually as the plants 
grow. This causes them to send out more 
roots, and the vines continue green much 
longer. Whatever method is adopted, the 
ground should be well manured, and the 
crop followed up with frequent hoeing and 
scuffling. 
SUCCESSION. 
There is a difference of three or four 
weeks in the lime of maturing with different 
varieties. If these are all sown in March, 
they will give a good succession from June 
till August. Another sowing of the same 
varieties in May will give a still later suc¬ 
cession, and will continue this vegetable 
quite as long as it is - coveted. During the 
dog-days the vines are very likely to be 
struck with mildew, and if we desiie peas at 
tliis season, they should be planted on the 
north side of a wall, where they will be 
kept as cool as possible. 
COOKING PEAS 
is a matter quite as important as growing 
them. Nine-tenths of all that are eaten in 
the city are worthless before they go to the 
pot. They should be cooked as soon as 
taken from the vines, and be boiled in no 
more water than is necessary to cook them. 
Then with roast lamb and new potatoes, 
they are a dish fit for the human stomach, 
to be eaten with thanksgiving, and a relish. 
Buist. says, “ they are considered as a 
pleasant and nourishing food, having the 
character of purifying the blood and cor¬ 
recting scorbutic humors.” 
IMPROVING VARIETIES. 
This can be easily done by carefully sav¬ 
ing the largest and earliest pods every year 
for seed, and planting only these. Most 
mbn only take what is left for seed, and thus 
their varieties degenerate every year. Every 
gardener should see to the saving of seed 
himself. Certain rows or parts of rows 
should be left for this purpose. Long, 
plump, early pods, are the most desirable. 
They should be dried thoroughly, shelled, 
and put in a bag in the seed-room for the 
next year. 
Do not use a top dressing, or guano in 
the drills when you plant, unless you want 
to lose your crop. 
Skillful cooking is as readily discovered in 
a nicely baked potato, or a respectable John¬ 
ny cake, as in a nut brown sirloin, or a 
brace of canvass backs. 
BASIL. 
Pray what is Basil ? We never saw it, 
never heard of it, and should not know how 
to use it if we had it. What is the use of 
raising basil if the cook (which in most 
cases means wife) does not know what to 
do with if? That is precisely the question 
that we set out to answer. 
Our English cousins, as well as the 
French, have a great variety of pot herbs, 
and little delicacies for garnishing dishes, 
which make them not only look tastefully, 
but taste well, and thus add attractions to 
the chief meal of the day. These herbs are 
known in this country, but are confined 
mainly to our city markets, and to the gar¬ 
dens of gentlemen of wealth in the country. 
Parsley, celery, eschalots, chives, thyme, 
summer savory, basil, &c., are rare things in 
a farmer’s garden, and quite possibly some 
of oui readers have never seen them, and 
would not know the use of them. 
Now we hold that farmers, the feeders of 
the world, have as good a right to be well 
fed as any other class of people,—that a per¬ 
petual diet of salt junk alias corned beef and 
pork, with potatoes, turnips, and cabbage, 
is not doing the clean thing by the noblest 
of all callings. There was an article in the 
Tribune this winter, on “ Cooking in the 
Country,” which told a great many unpala¬ 
table truths, and called forth a large amount 
of female indignation and correspondence. 
We shall not repeat the folly of that writer 
by assailing the quality of anybody’s cook¬ 
ery. We assert that salt junk and cabbage, 
however well cooked, lacks variety, and that 
farmers may as well have a stew, a roast, a 
bake or a soup, as any of their city cousins. 
Now, to do up the meats in the most at¬ 
tractive style, and to have the dinner accom¬ 
panied with pleasant memories, we must 
have the pot-herbs, and the garnishing, and 
then with a few hints from the cook-book, 
we will put a country dinner against the 
best thing they can get up at the Astor or 
the St. Nicholas. A farmer has as good 
a right to a mock turtle soup, or to the gen¬ 
uine article without any mockery, as any 
Alderman. Hence the use of pot herbs in 
general, in the garden, and of basil in par¬ 
ticular. 
There are two varieties of this herb in 
use, sweet basil, (Ocymum Basilicum,) and 
bush basil, (Ocymum Minimum.) Both are 
natives of the East, and are held in high es¬ 
teem by all cooks trained in the schools, for 
their delicate flavor. The peculiar flavor of 
mock turtle soups is chiefly derived from 
this valuable pot herb. They flourish best 
in a rich light garden soil, with full exposure 
to the sun. 
Sow the seed in a gentle hot bed, about 
the 1st of April. When the plants are up, 
and large enough, say about the 1st of May, 
prick them out in rows twelve inches apart, 
and six inches in the row. The plants are 
rather tender, and easily affected by the 
frosts. They should be cut early in autumn, 
tied in little bunches, and hung up for winter 
use. A small bed will furnish a continuous 
supply through the summer. 
