PEA VARIETY TRIALS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1356, 6 February 1912, Page 8

PEA VARIETY TRIALS.

WHAT Till: XOHTIi ISLAND CAN DO. Commenting in tho Agricultural Department's Journal on recent pea variety trials in the North Island, Mr. G. do S. liaylis says that overy year a eonsideriil)le number of bushels of pe;\<, grown in ,\'ew Zealand from seed special ly sfiit out from England, arc shipped liacU to (lie fl!d Country for seed, for boiling and tor oilier purposes. Hitherto the bulk vi tinpens were grown in certain ]»rlions of tho Sottf.i Island, and sunr <!oubt wa.s as to the possibility of Blowing pens of quality in the Xorth lsh\n<l owing to tho influence of climate upon the development and colour of tho pea. The best values are obtained for samples which are true lo tha typo of variety grown, well filled, of good colour accordin;; to whether they l>e blue, white, ivory or brown. Uoort harvesting and careful threshing are olso necessary. One great want in the system of cropping commonly carried en in Keiv Zealand is the lack of leguminous crops in Hie rotation. Ppas mixed with oats or maize, etc., form an excellent forage, and tho growing of such mixture*, if suitably manured, so as not to exhaust the soil unnecessarily, would both feed the stock and the soil u.t the same time. Peas grown for wed purposes only, when attention is given to tho quality and colour of the typo grown, should be a remunerative crop; and where the land has boen carefully farmed the beneficial influence of the pea crop will bo noted in the appearance of the roots, wheat, or other crops which follow it. As a result of the trials in Masterton, Mr. Baylis considers tho initial trials suffice to prove that at least certain districts in the Xorth Tsland can produce peas equal to any which are grown in Hie South. In the North the threshing machines are not provided with tho special pea attachment which is found in the South, and consequently a largo proportion of the peas are split, and the sample spoilt. As a fnrau'e crop alone the pea is a useful crop to the farmer. As a soil renovator, it, like other legumes, sunnlie.s to ti.e soil that which no artificial manure can supply. Specially grown for the export trade, nrovided that the supnlies do not exceed the demand (which at the present time doo nor nnpear probable), tho grower should find the pea crap one which will place a considerable profit at his bank.