The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-11-18
To put the soil in the best condition

To put the soil in the best condition
to secure quick termination of the seed,
it should have the benefit of hand labor,
provided the area to be planted is small
enough to warrant this. There is no
other tool that will put a seed bed in as
good condition as a sharp-toothed steel
rake. After all has been done that the
plow and harrow can accomplish the rake
can still be used to advantage to finish
off to the depth of a couple of inches.
Drills can then be opened by a small
garden pillow, worked by hand, and the
seed covered by the same implement.
The seed should be sown rather thicklY
in it, either by hand or with the seed
drill opened so as to let the seed run out
literally.
An appreciable gain in earliness is
made by sprouting the seed before plart-
ing by mixing it with the fine soil and
keeping it warm and moist for twenty
four hours before using. Thus prepared
and planted, tie warm sun of April will
lift the young sprouts above the ground.
The variety to be used is of course a
''irst and best" of any reliable seeds
man. The kinds known as ''half-
dwarf" will in the average prove most
profitable. But where space is very
limited, Or for forcing in hotbeds,
dwarf varieties, like "American Wonder"
offer special advantages. They require
no brushing, and may be planted in close
rows, but to give best results the plants
should not stand closer in the rows than
six inches.
The question of stalking the vines
should be determined by the availability
of labor and brush. As soon as the
vine has attained a height of a few
inches it begins to throw out tendrils
that seek for some support. If this is
furnished the vine will expand more
than if left to itself, and probably will
have a greater fruitiug capacity. If
brush is not supplied to encourage vim
ing there should at least be some pro-
lection afforded to prevent the vines
dropping upon the ground. The pods
are quickly soiled by contact with the
ground, and in wet weather will rot.
To guard against this stakes may be
placed at intervals along the rows, and
one or two strands of heavy Irvine
stretched 80 as to catch the vines when
they begin to fall over, or a clean mulch
may be spread which will answer the
same purpose. The mulch, too, would
be of value in checking evaporation
from the soil in case of drought, but
should not be spread until the season is
so far advanced that the ground has be-
com thoroughly warmed, or it will re-
tard the earliness of the crop.
Within a week from the first picking,
peas usually become plentiful in the
markets and the price goes down one-
half or more, and remains down while
the bulk of the early crops are being
worked off. Then the price often re-
covers to nearly the first figure, as most
gardeners fail to have a "second early"
crop sufficiently early to keep up q con-
slant supply. To meet this need a "sec-
ond early" variety cannot be depended
on, but the same "earliest" sort should
be planted again within a week Of the
first sowing. The ground upon which
carly peas are grown can always be used
for a second crop, as the peas will be off
in time to plant potatoes, late cabbage
or celery. So the manure applied should
be in sufficient quantity for the needs OF
both crops.-American Agrieuhurist.