Vol. LXVI. No. 2986 
NEW YORK, APRIL 20, 1907. 
WEEKLY. *1.00 PER YEAR. 
GROWING PEAS FOR CANNING FACTORY. 
Different Methods in North and South. 
In peas wc have a very important crop for the gar¬ 
den, farm and canning establishments. The profits are 
not always large for the grower, but the product is 
always in demand. It is seldom necessary to have the 
soil in a high state of cultivation to grow a good crop 
of peas. A moderate application of stable manure, or 
500 or 600 pounds of commercial fertilizer, will usually 
grow a satisfactory crop on very ordinary soil. It is 
not generally known how extensively peas are culti¬ 
vated m New Jersey and in various parts of the South, 
and what great proportions of them find their way 
into the canning factories, but, unlike the tomato, they 
are seldom grown at a profit by the farmer for this 
pm pose unless done in a large way. where mechanical 
several other names. It is quite similar to all of the 
extra early type, only its seed is a bluish color instead 
of a creamy white. It is much used by canners be¬ 
cause of this desirable color; it is very uniform in 
ripening and a fine yielder. During a recent visit in the 
South I saw hundreds of acres of this variety being 
planted, some farmers planting 50 and some 75 acres. 
One grower informed me he usually planted a hundred 
acres each year. They buy the seed of this variety in 
laige quantities very low, some years paying not more 
than $2.60 per bushel, and about V/ 2 bushel to the acre 
is planted. They are picked by hand usually by the 
women for about 50 cents per day. 
Here in Monmouth Co., N. J„ peas are grown for 
•canning by an entirely different method. Mechanical 
power in the way of improved machines is used alto¬ 
gether for producing the crop, and only by the use 
they aie ready for the cans. The vines, after being 
reduced to manure, are returned to the soil. As to 
varieties, in addition to the early kind some of the 
wrinkled sort are used to lengthen the season. This 
plan is carried on very systematically and has been very 
successful. While peas grow and yield large crops here 
in central New Jersey, in cooler climates we find them 
of superior quality for canning, and in the Eastern 
states they have the reputation of being very fine 
Monmouth Co., N_J. _ _ x. m. white.' 
GROWING AND PRUNING RASPBERRIES. 
The Whole Story Well Told. 
Part II. 
WORK AFTER PICKING.—If the young canes are 
left to grow unchecked, by picking time they will form 
A VERMONT FAMILY AFFAIR IN A FIELD OF NOTTS EXCELSIOR PEAS. 
Fig. 150. 
constructions are altogether employed, or in some 
of the South where labor is in abundance and th 
very cheap. 
the method practiced in the Southern Stat< 
which large quantities of peas are grown for n 
and factory, is very simple as compared with thai 
in the North. The rows are marked out thre< 
apart, and no fertilizer or manure is used at the time 
of planting. The peas are sown mostly by hand, scat¬ 
tered 'along thinly in the rows by the negroes of the 
South ; they plant the seed very fast, and it is covered 
A horse power. When the peas are .about four or 
He inches high they are side-dressed with a fertilizer 
veiy rich in potash to the extent of 500 or 600 pounds 
o tie acre. I his they claim gives better results than 
app led at the time of planting. The variety used is 
exclusively Alaska, a variety that has been known by 
of such improved appliances can they be grown profit¬ 
ably in competition with the cheap and abundant labor 
of the South. We have one grower here who practically 
controls the entire industry. It is estimated that he 
plants from 700 to 1,000 acres of peas annually. The 
seed is dropped by a planter of his own design; it 
opens the rows, drops the seed, distributes the fertilizer, 
covers and levels the row with wonderful accuracy and 
neatness. I he field is cultivated with the best of 
improved wheel plows and cultivators. When the 
crop is ready to harvest the vines are cut close to 
the ground by using a thin-bladed, keen-cutting scythe. 
1 hey are hauled to the factory about the same way 
as we cart hay. Here they are thrashed or beaten out 
of the pods by a machine of wonderful construction. 
By passing through sieves the peas are separated from 
the vines and pods at the same operation, after which 
a formidable tangle of briers, which very seriously in¬ 
terferes with gathering the fruit. Cut back, as directed, 
it requires some time for the laterals to start, giving 
a clear field for picking, and if the work is done prompt¬ 
ly as soon as the fruit is all off, the surface may once 
more be thoroughly cultivated before the vines serious¬ 
ly interfere. This is very important after the tramping 
incident to picking. That finishes the Summer pruning. 
I know some recommend removing the old canes at 
once after fruiting; but I- am always too busy, and 
they are difficult to remove at that time; besides, I doubt 
if anything is gained by the practice. 
WINTER PRUNING, then, consists of cutting out 
the old canes, thinning out the surplus young canes and 
cutting back the laterals. In thinning out the young 
canes when set 2J/ 2 feet qp?rt, I usually leave four of 
the strongest and most upright, cutting all the rest 
