The pea is another crop which may be put into the ground as soon as the frost is out—­the earlier the better, if the smooth, hardy varieties are sown.  There are so many varieties that the novice to-day may well be excused for perplexity in choice.  Thompson, the English authority, gives forty kinds, and one hundred and forty-eight synonyms.  Mr. Gregory recommends the American Wonder, Bliss’s Abundance, Bliss’s Ever-bearing, McLean’s Advancer, Yorkshire Hero, Stratagem, and Champion of England.  Mr. Henderson’s list includes Henderson’s First of All, American Wonder, Bliss’s Abundance, Champion of England, and Pride of the Market.  Mr. Harris in his catalogue marks first and best, American Wonder, and also says, “For the main crop there is nothing better than the Champion of England.”  My own experience would lead me to plant the Tom Thumb either just before the ground froze in the fall, or as early in March as possible.  It is almost perfectly hardy, and gives me the earliest picking.  I should also plant Henderson’s First of All as soon as the frost was out, on a warm, well-drained soil.  For second crops, American Wonder and Premium Gem; and for the main and most satisfactory crop of all, Champion of England.  The Champion requires brush as a support, for it grows from four to six feet high; but it is well worth the trouble.  I plant the other kinds named because they are much earlier, and so dwarf as to need no brush; they are also productive, and excellent in quality if not left to grow too old.  For the dwarf kinds the soil cannot be too rich, and the warmer the ground and exposure, the earlier the crop.  For the tall late sorts the soil may easily be made too fertile; they should also be planted in cooler, moister, and heavier ground.  In the case of the dwarfs I put a fertilizer in with the seed as I have already explained.  Cover the dwarfs about two and a half inches deep, and the tall late sorts from three to four inches according to the nature of the soil.  Plant the Champion of England every ten days until the middle of June, and thus secure a succession of the best of all.

We all know how numerous have been the varieties of potato introduced into this country of late years—­many kinds sent out at first at the rate of one or more dollars per pound.  I amuse myself by trying several of these novelties (after they become cheap) every year, and one season raised very early crops of excellent potatoes from the Vanguard and Pearl of Savoy.  The Early Rose and Early Vermont have long been favorites.  They resemble each other very closely.  I have had excellent success with the Beauty of Hebron.  It is a good plan to learn what varieties succeed well in our own neighborhood, and then to plant chiefly of such kinds; we may then add to our zest by trying a few novelties.

Not only much reading on the subject, but also my own observation, and the general law that “like produces like,” lead me to indorse the practice of planting large tubers cut into sets containing one or more eyes, or buds.  The eye of a potato is a bud from which the plant grows; and the stronger backing it has, the stronger and more able is the plant to evolve new fine tubers through the action of its roots and foliage.  A small potato has many immature buds, which as a rule produce feeble plants.