THE GARDENING WORLD . 
173 
March 13, I909. 
Garder? Peas. 
The Right and the 
Wrong Way of Sowing. 
A deeply dug and liberally manured 
oil is essential to successful Pea culture, 
md, if possible, the ground should be 
urned up during the winter and left in 
1 rough state until the approach of the 
.owing season so that it may receive the 
benefits of exposure to frost and weather. 
5 eas are deep-rooting subjects, therefore 
he best results are more likely to be 
jbtained by incorporating the manure 
,vith the soil at a good depth as the work 
jf digging proceeds than by placing it in 
he trenches at the time the seed is sown, 
mother advantage of the former method 
jeing that the roots of the plants are in¬ 
duced to spread a considerable distance 
m each side of the row in search of nour- 
shment, whereas the latter method causes 
the roots to remain in the neighbourhood 
)f the manure in the trenches and obtain 
their nourishment and moisture from a 
romparatively small area of ground with 
the result that dry weather speedily has 
in unfa/our able effect upon the plants. 
Peas should never be sown under or 
near to larg* 3 trees, or drawn, unfruitful 
growth will be produced and, if possible, 
the rows should run from north to south 
;o that the sun will shine on both sides. 
Before sowing the seed and when the soil 
is fairly dry and friable, the ground must 
be well raked and broken up and also 
lightly trodden. 
The old-fashioned practice of sowing 
Peas in narrow V-shaped drills in the 
manner shown in Fig. 1 herewith, is a 
mistake and does not give the seeds a fair 
chance to develop into strong sturdy 
plants; other common mistakes being 
placing the rows too closely together and 
sowing the seed too thickly. Sketches 3 
and 4 give a good idea of the difference 
in the strength and condition of the roots 
of properly sown Peas and Peas sown too 
thickly. 
Shallow 7 trenches, the w'idth of an ordi¬ 
nary spade, should be got out similar to 
Tig. 2, and the seed be evenly distributed 
in the bottom, a pint of seed being suffi¬ 
cient for a row about forty feet in length. 
The seed should be covered with fine soil 
about one and a half inches thick, and if 
the finished surface of the trench is a little 
below the natural ground level as indi¬ 
cated by the dotted line A in Fig. 2, it 
will provide space for earthing the young 
plants as thev grow. 
Birds are very partial to young Peas, 
therefore, as soon as the’ seed is sown, 
! several strands of black thread should 
be stretched up and dowrn each row 7 about 
an inch from the ground, or the row 7 s 
be covered with tanned garden netting 
to provide protection. Mice are often 
troublesome and eat the seeds both be¬ 
fore and after germination. As a preven¬ 
tive the seeds should be slightly damped 
and dusted w 7 ith red lead before being 
sown, whilst trapping and poisoning are 
the only remedies after the seeds have 
commenced to grow 7 . Repeated dustings 
of lime and soot will prevent slugs injur¬ 
ing the young plants. 
ORTUS. 
4 . 
Methods of sowing Peas; 1, wrong wav: 
3, right way; 3, result of thin sowing; in 
4 the -plants are too crowded. 
During a recent week 84 tons of flowers 
were landed at Penzance from the Scilly 
Islands. 
Royal Ulster Agricultural Society. 
The competitions at the Horticultural 
Show 7 , to be held in conjunction w 7 ith the 
Horse Show of the above Society at Bal¬ 
moral, Belfast, on July 22nd and 23rd 
next, will be open to'the United Kingdom. 
The schedule of prizes can now be ob¬ 
tained of the Secretary, Mr. Kenneth 
MacRae. 
The White City • Diploma. 
The plate for the diploma which is to 
be issued in connection with the Franco- 
British Exhibition was completed recently 
by Mr. G. W. Eye, and the printing has 
been proceeded with. The diplomas were 
expected to be reach 7 bv the middle of 
this month, about which time exhibitors 
may apply for them. 
Rhubarb. 
Planting and Forcing. 
Best Kinds to Grow. 
Because this plant is seen in every cot¬ 
tage garden a general idea seems to pre¬ 
vail that it is very common and that its 
growth requires no attention — that it will 
fight its way right enough if left alone. 
But this is a mistake. Judging from the 
impoverished specimens to be seen in 
some small gardens, a few cultural hints 
on the subject may not be out of place 
here, as now is the time to plant, or re¬ 
plant, Rhubarb crowns. 
In order to obtain juicy, tender stalks 
•of a goodly size the ground must be 
well trenched and manured one-and-a- 
half or two spits deep, a spit being the 
depth of the spade. Choose a spell of 
mild weather if possible, as it is not good 
for the soil to be turned over when frosty. 
Some amateurs may think that simple 
digging wall suffice, but this is not so. 
Rhubarb being a deeply-rooting plant it 
is really necessary, if the best results are 
desired, to trench the ground deeply; 
then mix in a liberal quantity of half- 
rotted manure, and level the surface, 
breaking up lumps. 
Whether you have bought a new supply 
or merely wish to increase your old stock, 
the crowns should be cut up, taking care 
that each piece carries a bud. Plant 
these 2 in. or 3 in. below the surface in 
rows 3 ft. apart each v 7 av. This finished, 
a mulching of well-seasoned manure 
should be applied half a foot deep, which 
will keep the crowns warm and the soil 
moist during frost. 
Forced Rhubarb is in much demand for 
the early spring markets, and usually 
fetches a good price, therefore it pays to 
grow a supply. Old crowns v 7 hich have 
yielded w 7 ell during past seasons are best 
for this purpose. Divide and plant them 
on an old mushroom bed for choice, but 
if this is not available, make a gentle hot¬ 
bed in a shed or outhouse, or even outside 
if the crowns after being planted are 
covered with tubs or tree pots. The main 
point is to keep them dark and v 7 arm. They 
may even be left in the Rhubarb bed if 
large pots or pans be upturned over them, 
and these covered w 7 ith straw 7 litter from 
the stable or byre. A later crop may be 
produced by simply covering with the 
pots, but no litter.' As the stalks grow 
raise the pots from the ground on pieces 
of brick or anything else suitable to en¬ 
sure plenty of height. 
Rhubarb does not require much water¬ 
ing, Nature’s supply as a rule being suffi¬ 
cient ; but on dry soils w 7 eak liquid 
manure may be given occasionally during 
summer. 
If w 7 ell cared for, a Rhubarb bed v 7 ill 
yield good crops for several years, but no 
stalks should be pulled the first season; 
this is important. 
Some good kinds are Kershaw’s Para¬ 
gon and Myatt’s Victoria, the latter large 
and crimson. Hawke’s Champagne and 
Johnstons St. Martin are two good 
earlies, the latter a fine forcer. Stott's 
Monarch is good for general culture. 
E. VYNER, 
