758 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 1st, 1885. 
SCOTTISH GARDENING. 
1 ' : . 
Pea Growing. — Notwithstanding the supposed 
advancement which has been made in raising “ new 
kinds ” of Peas, and the frequent references made 
to the cultivation of this favourite vegetable, I am 
inclined to believe that the great improvement on the 
varieties with which we were well acquainted in our 
youth is more fancied than real; and so far as success 
in producing quantity goes, we feel bound to admit, 
most reluctantly, that our fathers had the advantage. 
While it is easier to grow Peas in northern districts 
under ordinary circumstances, yet in the south, by 
special cultivation, one need not fear the drought to 
the extent which some dread sun-heat with absence of 
rain. In those districts where Peas are largely 
grown for market and for seed to supply the trade, 
means must be adopted to prevent a failure of the 
crop, which also means a loss of capital. 'Where the 
cultivation has been of a high order the crop realized 
is correspondingly good, and if well marketed is a very 
remunerative item in garden farming; indeed, we 
know of one case in which the Pea crop saved the 
tenant from giving up his farm ; his crop being 
excellent, and the farm situated in close proximity to 
a thriving town, gave ready sales and quick returns, 
and the cost of transit was nominal. The cultivation 
of that farm generally was discreditable in the extreme, 
even in that part of England, where little in the way 
of farming seemed to be understood by farmers, 
except the requirements of cattle and sheep ; but the 
preparation of the land for Peas was special, being 
ploughed and reploughed, harrowed and reharrowed, 
but the portion of labour and expense devoted to 
manuring the land was the chief thing which led to 
success—farmyard manure and artificial manure was 
applied with no stinted hand. 
In gardens where the crop is propped up, weeded, 
surface stirred, and may be watered, it often collapses 
before much more than the value of the seed has 
been realized in the shape of Green Peas. If a 
thorough preparation at the beginning is made, 
results need not give much concern. It is sometimes 
argued that rich land gives a profusion of haulm, 
but not of Peas, but this is only experienced under 
certain conditions. Were we in charge of low-lying 
ground with damp subsoil and deficient drainage, the 
manuring would have due consideration, and we think 
that strong cow-manure would not be used—probably 
leaf-mould, rotted straw, old turf, burnt soil, or what¬ 
ever comeatable material could be had which would 
keep the land open and sweet if possible, but at the 
earliest opportunity such land would undergo mani¬ 
pulation which would affect its irriguous condition. 
But with land in fairly healthy condition we would 
imitate the liberal portion of our old friend the 
farmer’s practice, by allowing unstinted quantities of 
farmyard manure to be incorporated with the soil. 
In deeply trenched ground, where the roots can go 
down away from the burning sun and be safe from 
extremes of wet, good Peas can in most cases be 
gathered, even if the manure supply has been 
limited, and watering not practised ; except watering 
can be done in a manner to soak the soil right to 
the extreme points of the roots, it is labour lost, and 
something worse—it is a positive injury. 
An evil not uncommon is sowing too thickly—the 
straw of strong growers smothers the blossoms. All 
kinds of Peas do not require to be sown alike, and as 
a rule those which are to supply the first crops may 
be sown more thickly than such strong growers as 
British Queen, Champion of England, Ne Plus Ultra, 
or other later kinds. We have often drawn wide 
drills and planted as one would Broad Beans and 
Scarlet Runners, and when as high as the stakes 
would support them they would receive a general 
topping. We may note here a salutary lesson we 
once received in “ topping.” A not very handy 
labourer was put to clean and hoe the soil about a 
number of fine rows of Peas, and instructed to top 
the strongest stems; but his love of economy of 
labour, or some other commendable virtue, prompted 
him to seize a pair of hedge shears and make a 
quick and thoroughly neat job by clipping every stem 
as close as the stakes would allow. Anger and 
vexation we were soon compelled to turn to mirth at 
the grotesque appearance of the poor Peas denuded of 
their fine foliage. To save the Peas seemed at first 
impossible, but repeated soakings of water, succeeded 
by careful and effectual mulching, and the influence 
of a hot sun, soon caused a second growth, and never 
in our recollection did we ever have such an abundant 
supply (to the end of October) of excellent Green 
Peas; thus real good emanated from what appeared at 
first to be a decided evil. 
It has been a practice, commonly adopted in Scot¬ 
land, to sow the earliest Peas in November, in prefer¬ 
ence to the general system of sowing in boxes, &c. 
later, using at bottom leafy soil or turf, and we know 
where success (in most cases) has attended the system 
of autumn and early winter sowing. By the precaution 
of keeping the seed well to the surface, covering with 
healthy dry soil, and using means to keep vermin 
in check, Peas are thus often had equal to the best 
grown by any other means, and many who have 
plenty of glass at their disposal prefer the older 
method of autumn sowing in the open grounds. 
These autumn sowings are succeeded by others sown 
during January, February, March, and so on. The 
checking of rats and mice is generally accomplished 
by using red lead dusted over the seed. Barley chaff, 
chopped Furze, hedge trimmings, and such like placed 
in the rows, after sowing, and nicely covered, acts as a 
preventive, and, we think, is advantageous to the seed ; 
such coverings must be conducive to warmth. When 
raising Peas under glass for early supplies there 
is often much unnecessary work which affords no 
tangible advantage over more simple means. Small 
pots, strips of turf, drain tiles, narrow boxes, and so 
on, we think, are not equal to sowing the seed in 
wide boxes, using soil which the roots can cling to 
and which will be carried by the fibres to the ground 
at planting time during March. 
Our earliest recollections of good Pea growing by 
simple means was by Mr. Thomson (now of Cloven¬ 
fords), who made a simple matter of all garden work. 
In the early part of the year Mr. Thomson had a 
goodly number of boxes arranged for the different 
kinds of Peas to be sown. Two or three coming in at 
different periods, when sown simultaneously, give 
useful successions. A thin layer of open rough soil 
was placed on the bottom of each box; over this the 
Peas were spread thickly, watered, then covered with 
charcoal dust, plenty of such useful material being 
always at hand: the young Pea tops grow through 
such material unimpeded. The boxes were placed in 
a vinery or Peach-house (not coddled) till the Peas 
came up, and then were kept airy, with plenty of 
light, till they were ready to plant out. A border 
was well trenched and manured, and the Peas 
were planted out (on a fine day), lifting them in 
tufts from the boxes, all the soil clinging to the 
roots. The work being carefully done, they never 
seemed to get a check, but grew on and fruited 
abundantly. Staking was carefully done for pro¬ 
tection immediately after planting. The chief cause 
of success seemed to be from having the soil 
thoroughly prepared beforehand. The roots of the 
Peas had free access downwards, and neither mildew 
nor any other evil resulting from drought was 
experienced. 
The favourite early Pea in those days was Sangster’s 
No. 1. It has many aliases, but is an excellent Pea 
to-day. Old kinds, such as Yeitch’s Perfection, 
Ne Plus Ultra, Champion of England, and British 
Queen, still retain their admirers, and are hard 
to beat. A nurseryman in Surrey told us, when dis¬ 
cussing the merits of Peas, old and new, that he 
always grew Ne Plus Ultra because of its productive¬ 
ness and excellent flavour. By sowing in the usual 
manner during November and December he was able 
to gather good crops early in June, and kept up 
successions of the one kind till the end of the season. 
There is often a difficulty with stakes by those living 
near towns. A careful selection of dwarfs grown 
well gives a large quantity of good Peas, more in 
proportion to taller kinds. The “Pea-trainers” 
which are destined to take the place of the old- 
fashioned stakes answer the purpose well, but to get 
a stock to stake all one’s Peas is a costly item in 
garden expenditure. We have invested this year in 
these trainers, and find them neat and useful, but the 
expense is formidable; £20 does not go far towards 
meeting the wants of a moderate place with 
“ trainers.” 
We notice that in some nursery catalogues kinds of 
Peas are recommended to give supplies during May 
from the open ground, but I fear few Peas are 
gathered during May in northern counties in England 
or in any part of Scotland; doing our best we cannot 
manage a picking before the second week of June, and 
this year (one of the latest seasons on record) we got 
no Peas before the third week of June, and these 
grown in borders where large quantities of turf were 
added ; the addition of such material almost renders 
crops drought proof. 'Watering or mulching we have 
not used yet, and the Peas are green and promising, 
but no rain has fallen since May to reach the roots of 
Peas. We advise leaving watering alone except it can 
be done in a thorough manner, moistening the soil 
below the roots, then applying mulching efficiently ; 
but those who object to trenching, I fear, will not 
have then - difficulties with Pea-growing to seek in 
seasons dry and parching like tire present.— M. T. 
-— —s — 
SELECT HARDY PERENNIALS. 
(Continued from p. 743.) 
Erodium Manescavi. —This is probably the showiest 
species of this genus and certainly one of the best. 
It is adapted for either the rockwork or border, and is 
a most profuse bloomer ; the tufts of leaves are very 
graceful, and attain a height of 1 ft. or thereabouts, 
from which issue numerous flower stems, each bear¬ 
ing an umbel of flowers of a purple-red colour. It 
commences flowering about the beginning of July, and 
continues till quite late in the autumn. It is best 
propagated by division of the root-stock and also by 
seeds ; and the former operation is best performed in 
the early part of the year, not later than the first week 
in April, unless there are conveniences for potting the 
plants and placing them in cold frames, keeping them 
close till well established, and then after due prepara¬ 
tion again planting them out. This may seem a good 
deal of trouble at first sight, but it is as naught com¬ 
pared with the losses and failures that have come under 
our notice consequent upon plants having been divided 
late in the season, and not having sufficient time to 
establish themselves before hot weather sets in. 
Eryngiums. —In these we have a group of pictur¬ 
esque plants holding among perennials a position 
equivalent to the genus Pandanus among stove plants, 
very interesting and beautiful in their way, but un¬ 
fortunately not altogether hardy in all soils. Where 
high and dry positions on the rockery can be afforded 
them, they form quite a feature, and are always 
admired when seen in good condition, and where the 
soil is of a sandy or stony nature they are well suited 
for isolated positions on the lawn. The best kinds 
are E. amethystinum, height 3 ft., and having very 
spiny leaves; the upper part of the flower stems and 
also the flower heads and bracts are of a pleasing 
amethystine-blue. In positions hear the sea it makes 
an exceedingly handsome plant, and it may be used 
with good effect as a pot plant for conservatory deco¬ 
ration. E. pandanifolium is a very fine species, parti¬ 
cularly spiny; it is a conspicuous plant when in flower, 
the flower stem often attaining a height of 8 ft. or 
10ft. and having somewhat branching heads of reddish- 
purple flowers. E. serra is a distinct and handsome 
plant, though less hardy than the two species just 
named. 
Francoa iumosa. —Till quite recently the value of 
this good old plant was not discovered, and in con¬ 
sequence it fell into neglect, but now its merits are so 
fully realized that in many large plant-growing estab¬ 
lishments its culture is made somewhat of a speciality, 
and it is grown by hundreds for the sake of its long 
branching spikes of pure white flowers, which are so 
abundantly produced from August to October. Strictly 
speaking, it is like the last group to which attention 
has been drawn—not thoroughly hardy in all localities; 
indeed, it is more generally met with in the green¬ 
house, and not regarded as being anything approaching 
hardy, though in light warm soils or near the sea it 
withstands our severest winters without injury. Its 
special or greatest value is when specially grown for 
autumn and winter blooming in pots, at which time it 
is almost, if not quite, unique. For this purpose cut¬ 
tings should be inserted singly in small pots in the 
early part of the year, and grown liberally through 
the summer, or the old plants may be divided and 
