CHAPTER XXII.

THE PEA (Pisum sativum.)

Pois, French; Erbse, German; Erwat, Dutch; Pisello, Italian; Pesoles, Spanish; and Ervilha, Portuguese.

The pea is a hardy annual, a native of the south of Europe, and has been cultivated from time immemorial. We are told that, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, peas not being very common in England, they were brought from Holland, and that they were " fit dainties for ladies, they come so far, and cost so dear." Where labor for picking the crop is plentiful, it is one of the indispensable crops of the truck-farmer, bringing in the first proceeds of the season.

VARIETIES.

A good market variety should be productive, of good flavor, form full, pods plump, and be of uniform growth. Frequently a gardener plants poor seed, which runs to vine, and produces but few good pods. The varieties themselves are subject to change, and will deteriorate, unless constant care is exercised in growing them for seed. The varieties at present preferred, enumerated in the order of their earliness and value are:

First. The "Early Alpha." This is, exclusive of the "American Wonder," the only wrinkled Dwarf Pea. It grows three feet high, is very productive, and produces large pods of dark green color. The objection to all the wrinkled peas is, that they must be sown thicker than the round varieties.

Second. The "Philadelphia Extra Early." This is very uniform, when the seed is pure, and is productive,

Third.-The "Daniel O'Rourke." This is an excellent early pea, and is very popular with Northern growers. Its height is about three feet.

Of the later kinds, the "Black-eyed" and "Whitemarrowfat" take equal rank, and grow about four and a half feet high.

SOIL AND SOWING.

The large, later and more hardy marrowfat varieties may be planted in the vicinity of Savannah as early as November 20th, following with the earlier kinds; but in usual seasons December 1st is early enough for the first sowings. In the case of a plant so hardy as the pea, it is possible to grow it, in middle to south Florida, to mature at any time during the winter. It is well, if a large crop is to be planted, to make separate sowings at intervals of a few days, in order not to have the whole planting subject to unfavorable contingencies at the same stage of growth. No usual degree of cold in this latitude will hurt the pea, unless it be in bloom or pod.

A dry, rich, warm, sandy loam is the best soil for this crop. For the wrinkled varieties, it is especially necessary that the soil should be warm and dry. These do not seem to be so well matured as the round sorts, and in moist, or wet and cool soils they may fail to germinate, and may rot in the ground. Good stable manure is the best. The field being in proper condition, it is manured in the furrow at the rate of twenty-five or thirty loads, of thirty bushels each, to the acre, the rows being five or six feet apart, according to the variety. The seed is sown in double drills, about ten inches apart, on flat beds or ridges over the manure. The quantity of seed required for an acre is about two bushels. As regards the distance in the row, the peas are distributed according to size, about half an inch to an inch and a half, by hand, or by means of a drill, which sows both parallel drills at the same time.

The opinion, I believe, generally prevails that the deeper peas can be sown, the more productive will be the crop, and the longer will it remain in bearing. One and one-half inch is the usual depth in a sandy loam.

CULTIVATION.

As the growth of the pea crop extends through the winter and early spring, when weeds are not abundant, cultivation is only, or chiefly, necessary as a promoter of growth. The soil between the ridges may be stirred twice, or more frequently in an unfavorable season; but as soon as the plants grow to two or three inches, the earth should be hoed to the stems, when dry, gradually earthing higher up, as the peas increase in hight. All peas, save the dwarfs, not only fruit better, but continue longer in bearing and mature better, if they are bushed. As soon as they commence to “ run to vine, or to put out their clasping tendrils, which will be when about ten or twelve inches high, according to variety, they should be bushed or stuck. Branching sticks are thrust between the drills so firmly into the ground as not to be blown down, and near enough to be a sapport for all the plants. This will not only be facilitated, if the sticks cross each other in the row near the surface, but they will be a mutual support. When the bushes from which the sticks are to be cut are more or less convenient, the expense of this sticking will be from three to five dollars per acre. The first shipments are usually made from Savannah about March 10th. The early varieties admit of about five pickings; the later, one or two more; one hundred and fifty to two hundred crates being the yield per

acre.

Peas were sold the past season at from one dollar and fifty cents to five dollars and fifty cents per bushel crate, while fifteen years ago I received twenty dollars per barrel on April 5th.

No pod should be picked or packed which is yet flat, for the reason that the peas are not sufficiently developed; and none that are discolored or rough from over-ripeness should be marketed. The ordinary bushel crate is the only package used at present. The contents should be thoroughly shaken down, and the crate be more than full, when ready to be nailed up.

The two weevils, Bruchus pisi and Bruchus granarius, which are principally injurious to the pea, affect the farmer only in so far as they are destructive to his seed, the larvæ inhabiting it and feeding on its substance.

Though they usually leave the germ untouched, and buggy-peas will germinate, yet the plant, being without

the nutriment provided for its early growth, is weak at the start, and is never so vigorous and productive as those from sound seed. Our common Pea-weevil (Bruchus pisi) is given in fig. 48, much enlarged, its real size being shown in the outline at the left. The Grain Bruchus or Barn-beetle of Europe (Bruchus granarius), fig. 49, infests both peas and beans. It is sometimes imported with foreign seeds, but has not yet become naturalized. It is somewhat smaller than the Peabeetle, and the markings of the two are very different.

The Cotton Boll-worm (Heliothis armigera) is sometimes found feeding upon the pea, but too seldom to do much harm.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE POTATO (Solanum tuberosum.)

Pomme de terre, French; Kartoffel, German; Aardappel, Dutch; Tartufi bianchi or Pomo di terra, Ital; Papas, Spanish.

The active principle, Solanin, characteristic of the family Solanaceae, to which the potato belongs, has been found, but in much smaller proportions than in other members, in the sap, in the berries, and also in tubers of the potato after they had sprouted. For this reason sprouted potatoes are less valuable for food than before the development of sprouts, although in the process of cooking a change is effected in the composition.

The chief organic ingredient of the potato is starch, which forms about one-tenth of its weight. It has generally been admitted, that the potato was first introduced by the Spaniards into Europe from South America (it is still found in its wild state in the mountains of Chili), and that Sir Walter Raleigh introduced it into England from Virginia. Whether this is strictly the history of its appearance in Europe, or not, the potato has been found indigenous in Mexico and Arizona. Johnson wrote: "The potato is one of the greatest blessings bestowed upon mankind; for, next to rice, it affords sustenance to more human beings than any other gift of God." Unlike the latter (the continuous use of which sometimes affects the eyes), it may be the exclusive food of man for an extended period without injuring the system. And it is owing to the absence of any distinct peculiarity of taste, to its wholesomeness and to its consisting largely of starch, in every particular resembling the flour of grain, that it may be continuously used as