484 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 23. 
! respective merits may, perhaps, be questioned ; itisthis— 
supposing the green or blue section possess greater table 
attractions than the white,is the policy a bad one which 
reserves the best one until a beginning has been made? 
j as it is well known the lirst are welcomed in with that 
hearty good-will that those fine points of distinction 
which characterise one variety from another are not 
regarded with such scrutinising nicety as they will be 
after a while ; and the taste is sometimes so fastidious, 
that a great benefit is derived by having a road open to 
improvement, which could not be the case if the best 
j was served first; but as I have all along advised the 
sowing of one or other of the best white kinds, of which 
the Charlton, Kent, or Early Frame is the parent, for 
■ the first crop, but that the more esteemed ones at table 
1 might succeed them, it is needless saying any more on 
i the subject than what is necessary to meet the indi- 
| vidual cases of cultivators. 
Peas, as an article for market, are largely grown in 
Kent and some other counties bordering the Metropolis, 
i The plan there adopted is to sow them in drills, about 
: two feet apart, in November, and about the end of April 
1 an intervening row of Swede Turnips is not unfre¬ 
quently sown; this secondary crop is, of course, much 
trampled on by the picking and other work necessary 
with the first crop ; still, it often struggles through, and 
a good produce is the result, but the Peas are, as might 
be expected, roughly handled ; sticks, and other appli¬ 
ances common in gardens, are here disregarded, and the 
crop lying on its side is often roughly turned over to 
give up its treasure concealed beneath; this manner of 
doing it renders the latest kinds of little value for this 
purpose; but on tbc other hand, the very dwarf ones are 
as seldom grown" either. The most productive ones 
are those which are about the size of the Early 
Frame and its compeers, but the kinds most grown are 
the Kents and the Scimitar. This latter is not much 
inferior to many of those with more pretensions; in fact, 
it may be called the parent of many of them ; and how 
many “valuable kinds, with high astounding names,” a 
bag of Scimitars may have furnished, is only known to 
those who have the mysteries of the trade at their finger 
ends. One thing is certain, the Scimitar, to this day, is a 
useful, good Pea; and though some have a better-filled 
pod, it is not to be despised for its accommodating quali¬ 
ties ; but the amateur, who has but a limited space to dis- 
| pose of for his Pea crop, and wants to make as much as 
lie can of the ground it occupies, would do well to grow 
| only the large or tall kinds, and by sowing them in 
! rows of six or eight feet apart, Brocoli, or some other 
winter crop, might be planted between them, in July, in 
such a way as to occupy the whole space when the Peas 
are cleared away; and though the Brocoli plants may be 
much bruised and hurt by the trampling the ground 
receives, yet the season generally allows them time to 
recover themselves again, and good Brocoli, &c, is 
frequently obtained from ground that the preceding 
summer furnished abundance of Peas. This mixed- 
; cropping-svstein is, however, not advisable in all cases; 
neither must the last sown ones be hampered by any 
intervening crop, for they will not be removed in time 
to allow the other an opportunity to rally and grow 
before winter sets in. Other crops, as well as that of 
the Cabbage tribe, are often planted in such places, 
many having their Celery shrouded by their Peas in 
i summer; but this, as well as many other crops, is re¬ 
gulated by the circumstance of tho case immediately 
in hand. 
As it would not be just to close this subject without 
naming one or two varieties, which, in a usual way, 
may be depended on as good, I may say, that I have 
for some years depended on T Varner's Early Emperor 
tor the first crop, and the Champion of England and 
British Queen for the after ones, and though I have 
generally grown others as well, these three are the kinds 
I depend upon for a supply, and it is generally 
forthcoming. Observe, they are all stieked at the proper 
time, and are, therefore, in a condition to bear to the full 
extent of their capabilities. The ground they are sown 
on being deeply tilled, the roots have access to a greater 
depth than the droughts of summer is likely to pene¬ 
trate, and thus one great cause of mildew is removed, that 
bane to the autumn Pea crop in the south of England, from 
which our brethren in the north are, in a measure, 
exempt. The Pea also likes a generous soil, and 
though fresh and green manures may create a grossness 
of habit when it is accompanied by a showery, growing 
season as well, still,, a considerable amount of enriching 
matter may be added prior to sowing the crop, and as 
much in a liquid state after as the place will allow of, 
bearing in mind, that where much produce is expected, 
much manure ought to be given; and there are few 
things more deserving of attention, for none are more 
generally esteemed at table, than a dish of nice Green 
Peas, so that nothing must be denied them calculated to 
ensure their well-being. 
It will have been noticed, by all parties who had Peas 
sown in the usual way last autumn, how muclilaterthey 
were this year than last; mine, sown in the middle of 
November, were scarcely through the ground at the end 
of January; while, last year, they were nearly a foot high 
at that time; but then they were entirely destroyed by 
the frost and snow we baa at the end of February, so 
that the second sowing, made about Christmas, came in 
first; but the present winter is widely different from the 
last, the early part of it being very severe; while, since 
the second week in January it has been all that could 
be desired for benefiting the ground, which certainly, 
works better than at any similar period for some years. 
However, we may have a trying spring yet, so that it 
behoves us all to be on the alert, and leave nothing 
undone now that can be done, for the time is fast ap¬ 
proaching when a variety of duties are equally pressing 
on the cultivator, that every thing which can expedite 
future operations ought to be brought into bearing now. 
% J. Hodson. 
ECONOMY OF THE FARM-YARD. 
(Concluded from page 4(i4.) 
Ix the foregoing observations upon this subject, re¬ 
ference has been made to the best method of managing 
the Farm-yards, as formerly constructed, both as regards 
the making manure, and the shelter for cattle; it has 
also beeu stated what the advantages are which have 
been secured by some of those most recently constructed j 
upon improved principles. But it has only had re- ( 
ference to those yards and steadings where partial : 
covering has been attempted, namely, when sheds or 
boxes have been recommended in connection with open 
courts or byres, as well as open pits or receptacles for 
manure, See. 
It is now my intention to allude to the most recent, 
as well as the most approved, style of Farm-steadings, 
and which, in my opinion, will be found in every respect 
the most desirable and the most economical. I refer to 
covered Farm-steadings, that is to say, buildings so 
arranged and covered that every animal usually fed at 
tho farmery may be kept under cover, and all the 
manure mado under cover also. Now, this new prin¬ 
ciple of building, as I shall call it, possesses several of 
the most important features in the economy of the 
