533 
P I S U M. 
mats, otherwise their leaves will flag, and their hiofl'oms 
fall oft’ without producing pods; as will alfo keeping the 
glafles too clofe at that feafon. But, when the plants 
begin to fruit, they ftiould be watered oftener, and 
in greater plenty than before; for by that time the plants 
will have nearly done growing, and the often refrelhing 
them will occafion their producing a greater plenty of 
fruit. The fort of pea which is generally ufed for this 
purpofe is the P. humile, or dwarf-pea, for all the other 
forts ramble too much to be kept in frames. The 
reafon for fowing them in the common ground, and after¬ 
wards tranfplanting them on a hot-bed, is alfo to check 
their growth, and caufe them to bear in lefs compafs ; for, 
if the feeds were fown upon a hot-bed, and the plants 
continued thereon, they would produce fuch luxuriant 
plants as are not to be contained in the frames, and 
would bear but little fruit. 
The next kind of pea, which is fown in the open air to 
l'ucceed thofe on the hot-bed, is the hotfpur, of which 
there are reckoned three or four forts; as the golden 
hotfpur, the Charlton hotfpur, the Mafters’s hotfpur, 
the Reading hotfpur, and fome others, which are very 
little differing from each other, except in their early bear¬ 
ing, for which the golden and Charlton hotfpurs are 
chiefly preferred ; though, if either of thefe forts is cul¬ 
tivated in the fame place for three or four years, it is apt 
to degenerate, and be later in fpring-fruiting; for which 
reafon molt curious perlons procure their feeds annually 
from fome diftant place ; and in the choice of thefe 
feeds, if they could be obtained from a colder fituation 
and a poorer foil than that in which they are to be fown, 
it will be much better than on the contrary, and they 
will come earlier in the fpring. Thefe muft alfo be fown 
on warm borders, towards the latter end of Otfober; and, 
when the plants are come up, you ftiould draw the earth 
up to their (hanks in the manner before directed ; which 
ftiould be repeated as the plants advance in height, 
(always obferving to do it when the ground is dry,) 
which will greatly proteft the ftems of the plants againft 
froft; and, if the winter ftiould prove very fevere, it will 
be of great fervice to the plants to cover them with peafe- 
haulm, or fome other light covering ; which ftiould be 
conftantly taken off in mild weather, and only fuffered 
to remain on during the continuance of the froft; for, if 
they are kept too dole, they will be drawn very weak and 
tender, and thereby be liable to be deftroyed with the 
leaft inclemency of the feafon. In the fpring you muft 
carefully clear them from weeds, and draw fome frefh 
earth up to their ftems; but do not raife it too high to 
the plants, left by burying their leaves you ftiould rot their 
ftems, as is fometimes the cafe, efpecially in wet feafons. 
You ftiould alfo obferve to keep them clear from vermin, 
which, if permitted to remain amongft the plants, will 
increafe fo plentifully as to devour the greateft part of 
them. The chief of the vermin which infeft peafe are 
the dugs, which lie all the day in the fmall hollows of 
the earth, near the ftems of the plants, and in the night¬ 
time come out, and make terrible deftruftion of the peafe ; 
and thefe worms chiefly abound in wet foils, or where a 
garden is neglected, and over-run with weeds ; therefore 
you ftiould make the ground clear every way round the 
peafe to deftroy their harbours, and afterwards in a fine 
mild morning, very early, when thefe vermin are got 
abroad from their holes, you ftiould flack a quantity of 
lime, which ftiould be poured hot over the ground, and 
will deftroy the vermin wherever it happens to fall upon 
them, but will do very little injury to the peafe, provided 
it be not fcattered too thick. 
If this crop of peafe fucceeds, it will immediately 
follow thofe on the hot-bed ; but, for fear this ftiould mif- 
carry, it will be proper to fow two more crops at about 
a fortnight’s diftance from each other, fo that there may 
be the more chances to l’ucceed. This will be fuflicient 
until the fpring of the year, when you may fow three 
more crops of thefe peafe ; one towards the beginning of 
Vol. XX. No. 1388. 
January, the other a fortnight after, pnd the third at the 
end of January. Thefe two late fowings will be fuflicient 
to continue the early fort of peafe through the firft feafon, 
and after this it will be proper to have iome of the large 
fort of peafe to fucceed them for the tife of the family; 
in order to which, you ftiould fow fome of the Spanifh 
Morotto, which is a great bearer, and a hardy fort of 
pea, about the middle of February, upon a clear open 
fpot of ground. Thefe muft be fown in rows about three 
feet afunder, and the peafe ftiould be dropped in the 
drills about an inch diftance, covering them about two 
inches deep with earth, being very careful that none of 
them lie uncovered, which will draw the mice, pigeons, 
or rooks, to attack the whole fpot ; and it often happens 
by this negledl, that a whole plantation is devoured by 
thefe creatures; whereas, when there are none of thefe 
peafe left in fight, they do not foeafily find them out. 
About a fortnight after this you ftiould fow another 
fpot, either of this fort or any other large fort of pea, to 
fucceed thofe, and then continue to repeat fowing once 
a-fortnight, till the middle or latter end of May, fome of 
thefe kinds, only obferving to allow the marrowfats, and 
other very large forts of peafe, at leaft three feet and a 
half, or four feet, between row and row; and the rofe-pea 
ftiould be allowed at leaft eight or ten inches diftance 
from plant to plant in the rows, for thefe grow very 
large; and if they have not room allowed them, they 
will fpoil each other by drawing up very tall, and will 
produce no fruit. 
The fickle-pea is much more common in Holland 
than in England, it being the fort moftly cultivated in 
that country; but in England they are only propagated 
by curious gentlemen for their own table, and are rarely 
brought into the markets. This fort the birds are very 
fond of, and, if the)' are not prevented, many times 
deftroy the whole crop. Thefe ftiould be planted in rows 
about two feet and a half afunder; and may be managed 
as has been directed for the other forts. 
Though we have directed the fowing of the large forts 
of peafe for the great crop, yet thefe are not fo Iweet as 
the early hotfpur-peafe ; therefore it will alfo be proper 
to continue a iucceflion of thofe forts through the feafon, 
in fmall quantities, to fupply the beft table, which may 
be done by fowing fome every week or ten days ; but all 
thofe which are fown late in the feafon ftiould have a 
ftrong moift foil, for in hot light land they will burn up 
and come to nothing. The large-growing forts may be 
cultivated for the common ule of the family, becaufe 
thefe will produce in greater quantities than the other, 
and will endure the drought better; but the early kinds 
are by far the fweeter tailed peafe. The beft of all the 
large kinds is the marrowfat, which, if gathered young, 
is a well-tafted pea; and this will continue good through 
the month of Auguft, if planted on a ftrong foil. 
The grey and other large winter-peafe are feldotn cul¬ 
tivated in gardens, becaufe they require a great deal of 
room, but are ufually fown infields. The beft time fol¬ 
lowing thefe is about the beginning of March, when 
the weather is pretty dry ; for, if they are put in the 
ground in a very wet feafon, they are apt to rot, efpecially 
if the ground be cold. They (hould be allowed at leaft 
three or four feet diftance row from row, and muft be 
fown very thin in the rows; for, if fown too thick, the 
haulm will fpread fo as to fill the ground, and ramble 
over each other, which which will caufe the plants to rot, 
and prevent their bearing. 
Peafe are cultivated by the farmer either alone or with 
beans. In ftrong lands the bean is the predominant crop, 
in lighter lands the pea; and in fuch lands the pea is 
more frequently fowed alone. The forts commonly 
(owed in fields are the grey, the blue, and the white. Of 
thefe there are innumerable tranfient varieties in our dif¬ 
ferent counties. In Suffolk, where the culture of the 
pea is well underftood, they reckon, 1. The common 
White. 2. The Forty-day. 3. The Charlton. 4. The 
6 U Blue. 
