sow seed in the open ground in May, in drills two feet asunder, and half an inch deep. When the plants are grown an inch or two high, thin them to the distance of fifteen or eighteen inches in the rows. The ground should be afterwards hoed deep around the plants, and kept free from weeds by repeated hoeings.

The Capsicum Grossum, or Bell Pepper, is perennial, and will keep in perpetual bearing in warm climates. In England this species is considered superior to all others, on account of its skin being thick, and also pulpy and tender. The plants are therefore frequently preserved in hot-houses during the winter and spring, and kept in the open air in settled warm weather.

PEAS.

POIs. Pisum sativum.

Peas will grow to different heights, according to soil and season. The Dwarf Pea require less distance between the rows and shorter sticks than the tall kinds; and sometimes no supports at all.

Planting the early kinds of Pea should commence as soon in the spring as the ground can be brought into good condition. All the other sorts, as well as the early, will answer for successive crops. A few of the most esteemed varieties should be planted at the same time every two weeks, from March until the end of May. Persons desirous of having Peas throughout the summer and autumn, may plant a few in June, July, and August. In dry weather the Peas should be soaked in soft water five or six hours before planting, and if the ground be very dry, it should be watered in the drills.

Gardeners practise different modes of planting Peas. Some plant them in ridges, others in drills; some in single rows, others in double; some use sticks for the dwarf kinds, and others not.

All the different sorts of Peas may be planted in double or single rows, from four to six feet apart, according to the different heights they may be expected to grow. If two drills be made three inches deep, and about nine inches apart, and the seed dropped along each drill moderately thick, they will yield better than single rows, and will save sticks. When the plants are two or three inches high, let them be hoed, drawing, at the same time, a little earth up to their stems. When they get to double that height, let them be hoed again. At the same time place a row of sticks or brush in the middle of your double rows, and a few shorter and smaller ones on the outside of each row, to assist the Peas in climbing to their main support. You must be governed as to the length of your sticks by the description of your Peas. There is great advantage in having sticks of a suitable height to the various kinds of Peas. The sticks should not only be sufficiently tall, but also branchy, that the plants may readily take hold; and they should be prepared fan-fashion, so that the side branches may extend only along the rows. As the plants progress in growth, let them be repeatedly hoed and earthed up; this will promote a plentiful bearing.

One quart of Peas will plant from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet of row, allowing the largest kinds to average one inch apart, and the smallest two Peas to the inch.

To have green Peas in perfection, they should be gathered while young, and cooked immediately after they are shelled, or they will soon lose their color and sweetness. Let the water be slightly seasoned with salt, and boiled; then put in the Peas with a small bunch of Spearmint, and ease the cover so as to let off the steam. They require about fifteen minutes boiling, or five minutes more or less, according to the age and care bestowed.

FORCING PEAS IN HOTBEDS.

The best kinds of Peas to force, are those that are the most dwarfish, as they will bear earlier, and make less straw.

Peas

run less to vine by being transplanted, than when they are sown where they are to remain; and the plants may be raised in a hotbed, or in pots or boxes. They do not require excessive heat, the temperature must be progressive, beginning at about 50° for the nursery-bed, and from that to 60° or 65° for fruiting. When the leaves of the plants are fairly expanded, they may be transplanted into rows from twelve to eighteen inches apart; and the earth in the fruiting-bed should be from twelve to eighteen inches in depth.

As the Peas progress in growth, the earth should be stirred; and when six inches high small sticks may be applied, so that the tendrils of the Peas may easily take hold; and they should be moulded at the bottom to enable them to support themselves. When they are in blossom pinch off the top. This will greatly promote the forming and filling of the pods. In dry weather Peas will require to be regularly watered; and as the spring advances, they may be exposed to the weather. Should cold storms occur, the tender vines must be protected with wide boards placed edgewise on both sides of the rows, and a board over the top until the weather has become warm. Such shields should be placed around other tender plants, when the weather is cloudy and cold, as they will grow more rapidly in a place where there is but little light, than when exposed to the light of day, chilling winds, and cold storms, with no sunshine. Cold winds and storms frequently chill plants so that they never recover.

POTATO.

POMME DE TERRE. Solanum Tuberosum.

The Potato is known to be a native of the southern parts of America, but has been greatly improved by cultivation. The varieties being very numerous, it is unnecessary to point out any particular kinds; some of the earliest should, however, be

season; but they are not so suitable for a full crop as the late planted first in the spring, to produce young Potatoes in due

varieties.

"CUZCO."

The "Cuzco" potato yields well with good cultivation, is a good table potato, of large size, keeps well,
brings a high price in market, and has been claimed to be "rot-proof." We have seen what were called
the genuine "Cuzcos," that were raised in different parts of the country, and they were very unlike.
Either the seed had not been kept pure, or growing in different localities affects the original character of
the potato.

have been contrived with a view to find out the best method of preparing the seed. In many parts of England (where Potatoes equal to any in the world are raised), the farmers seldom plant them whole; they take the Potatoes as they come to hand, and in cutting them, take care to have two good eyes in each set; the small Potatoes are deprived of the sprout or noseend, as it is generally considered that a redundancy of eyes exhausts the set, and produces weak plants, which are not calculated to yield a full crop. I have frequently known from five to six hundred bushels raised from an acre with small Potatoes

alone cut in this way. Some prefer planting the sets immediately after they are cut. The better way is to get them cut a week before the time of planting, and to lay them out on a barn or garret-floor to dry.

It will require from twelve to sixteen bushels of Potatoes to plant an acre of ground, according to the size and nature of the seed-roots, the manner of preparing, and mode of planting the

same.

Potatoes may be planted from the first week in April until July, either in hills or drills; the best way for a gardener is to plant them in drills four or five inches deep, and about thirty inches asunder. The sets may be dropped six or eight inches apart; and if a small quantity of comb-maker's horn shavings, bone-dust, or sea-weed, be used as a manure for the early kinds, it will expedite their growth. The ground should be hoed as soon as the plants come up, and a few times after this. Level cultivation is better than hilling.

"It is desirable, not only to get the best varieties for seed, but to know how to plant them and to raise the largest and best crop.

"The method I pursue, and which pays better, far better, than any of the old systems generally practised, is as follows: