242 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
March 19, 1904. 
Peas for Exhibition. 
To produce pods of the highest excellence all through the 
summer and autumn requires much skill, care and forethought, 
and it is absolutely essential that e-very exhibitor of vegetables 
should strive to have at command a continuous supply if he 
hopes to rank high as a competitor. The magnificent samples 
which we often see staged-are not produced in the ordinary 
way, but are the result of practical methods, and I will endear 
vour as briefly as possible to relate our mode 1 of treatment for 
the benefit of those who' are beginners. Selection of varieties 
should claim the first attention, asi it will be absolutely im¬ 
possible to ever hope to succeed with unsuitable kinds 1 . Large- 
podded sorts, which fill well and are of first-rate! quality, should 
be chosen, and my favourites for early shows are Early Morn 
and Edwin, Beckett; for mid-season, Alderman, Duke 1 of Albany, 
Essex Rival, and Telegraph; and for autumn, Autocrat a-ndl 
Gladstone. Each of these generally succeed well in all locali¬ 
ties, and by making frequent small sowings at intervals, say of 
ten days or so, a succession will be insured. 
Sowing the Seed. — I much prefer raising all the earlier 
plants in. boxes under glass in cool houses or frames. Tho¬ 
roughly harden and plant out when the weather is. 1 favourable!. 
This plan, in my opinion, has much to recommend it over that 
of sowing in the open ground, as the seed will germinate much 
more readily and stronger, are much more under control a,s 
regards vermin and the uncertain weather we generally expe¬ 
rience during the spring; by carefully transplanting, the 
plants do much better, and the results all round are more 
satisfactory. The boxesi should be well drained and some 
rough material placed over it to keep* a clear waterway. A 
good compost- should be prepared, two parts good fibrous 
loam, one 1 ditto: each of sifted leaf-soil and old Mushroom-bed 
manure. Thoroughly mix and use in a moderately dry condi¬ 
tion, filling the boxes about three part® full. The finest Pea® 
should be selected and placed evenly over the surface about, 
1 in. apart; cover with some of the finest of the mixture and 
well water in. Allow the seed to germinate slowly, and the 
growth must- be kept quite sturdy by assigning to them a light 
and airy position, such a® a cool Peach house or cold frame, 
and be on the alert for rats and mice. 
Thoroughly harden off in the open before planting. The 
greiund should be well prepared previously, and by far the 
best practice is to prepare trenches much in the same way as 
for Celery, which should be fully 2 ft. deep, as the Pea delight® 
in a deep root run. Prepare and fill up nearly level with -a 
good mixture of turfy loam, road scrapings, half-rotten horsiej- 
manure', adding a 6-in. -potful of bone meal and a, peck of 
wood ashes to' every barrow-load of the first-named. Carefully 
lift and plant in double line® about 4 in. apart, place some 
finely sifted cinder ashes about the plants to prevent them 
being ravaged by slugs, stake and net against birds at the 
same time. 
Successional sowings should be: made ini the open, putting in 
each seed with a small dibber just as thick again as it is in¬ 
tended for them to remain, and thin out to the required dis¬ 
tance when the plants are well above ground. At each sowing 
mousetraps should be placed along the rows. 
Watering.- —Copious supplies of clear and liquid manure- 
water should be given, in dry weather and the plants damped 
overhead during the afternoon. The ground between the rows 
should be thoroughly mulched with half-decayed stable manure, 
and in showery weather apply frequent small dressings of 
reliable vegetable manure and soot in equal proportions. 
Thinning. —All side growth® should be removed with a 
sharp knife, and after the third or fourth flower-truss is formed 
the points of the leading shoot® should be pinched out. After 
the pods are well set carefully look them over and select only 
those that promise to make the most shapely and with the 
largest number of Peas. This can easily be determined by 
holding them against the light. Carefuly tie up each to pre¬ 
vent the wind damaging and spoiling their appearance. Where 
birds are numerous, means will have to be taken to prevent 
them spoiling the specimens by carefully netting. The latest 
sowing should be made about the beginning of the last week 
in June. 
Peas 1 should alwa-ysi be staged full, but in quite a fresh condi¬ 
tion, and great care should be observed not to nib off the 
bloom or their appearance will be marred. In conveying them 
to the place of exhibition each pod should be cut with a long 
stalk and arranged in shallow boxes in single' layers on tissue 
paper. Arrange them neatly in an upright position, placing 
the hack of the pods, outwards and the stalks at top. Care¬ 
fully spray over before leaving to the verdict- of the judges. 
E>. Beckett. 
Aldenham House Gardens, Elstree. 
Theory and Practice of Gardening. 
Among the strange fancies: generated by shallow reasoning 
and incomplete investigation, that of setting theoretical know¬ 
ledge in opposition to practical, and improperly rejecting either, 
or exalting it at the expense of the other, is one of the most 
extraordinary and injurious. Practical gardeners, or those of 
them who especially pride themselves on this title, are 1 always 
jealous of the hints of theorists 1 , and too generally speak of 
their attainments and production® in a sneering manner, par¬ 
taking largely of sarcastic derision, and necessarily tending— 
though perhaps unmeaningly—to self-praise. A more profound 
scrutiny into the relative value® of these needful auxiliaries 
would convince both of the above parties that their views are 
too- much perverted by attention, to a, mere portion of a pursuit, 
and that if they strove- to draw from e-ac'h the aid it is capable 
of bestowing, different- opinions would be entertained. Theory 
can never be of the slightest use unless based upon experi¬ 
mental inquiry and authenticated 1 facts. Nor can extensive 
practice -be deemed of real advantage if it ha® been suffered to 
degenerate into- emptinessi, and the gardener simply adopts a 
routine he has before found satisfactory without- ever examin¬ 
ing the principles on which its success depend®. 
In the latter instance, certain circumstances, unseen by all 
but those who search for them, may impart a temporary ex¬ 
cellence to the plants cultivated ; whereas, should these be 
-accidentally wanting, failure would be experienced. With the 
■assistance of theoretical knowledge this might probably have 
been avoided. In: the foregoing observations I have endea¬ 
voured to place before thei classes mentioned the absolute 
necessity for blending the two great instruments here brought 
before them. Theory sho-uld be the result, of practice, and 
then it would in all respects be profitable; only, of course, it 
must be very general. Experience still becomes indispensable 
to enable the cultivator to modify it in the degree requisite 
for particular plant®. It, is most unwise for the young gar¬ 
dener to consult -theoretical works with greater rapidity, or to' 
a further proportionate extent-, than he advances' in practical 
experience. He ought rather t-o study establish principles on 
daily operations -than, to make them the- foundation of his 
professional superstructure. And when he himself fails in 
deducing the proper inferences from ordinary occurrences and 
labours 1 , consulting standard authors will then be prudent and 
doubly profitable. 
I do no-t discountenance the us-e of Works on the 1 rudiments 
of gardening; but without these are made subordinate to 
actual practice, and their details connected in the mind with 
the familiar economy really pursued, the latter arei likely toe 
be either rvliolly unimproved, or, by burdening the memory 
with hypotheses without- objects, decidedly detrimental. 
H. W. C. 
Covext Garden in 1570.—The landlord of Covent Garden at 
the above date, in granting a lease of it to Lord Burghley, called 
it “ Iris- porcyon or percell of the- Pasture communely called 
Covent Garden and other tenement® scituate in the High 
streate of Westminster comunly called the Stronde.” The scribes 
of those days were not particular as to spelling, even if their 
descriptions were picturesque. The Earl of Bedford leased the 
market on March 10th, 1631. 
