Horticulture as an Educating Influence. 235 



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sp 'akers chosen. Upon the appointed day take your team, y~mr 

 wife and friends, with a well-prepared lunch, not only sufficient 

 lor your own family, but to divide with others who may not have 

 a lull supply; go to the appointed place, and meet your friends 

 and neighbors. Ilave a nice picnic dinner. If you can add some 

 music to your entertainment, all the better. 



After dinner is over, have yonr meeting called to order, and a 

 regular business meeting conducted with good order, but without 

 being too strict in enforcing all the technicalities of parliamentary 

 rule. Make it pleasant and agreeable to all. We will suppose 

 that the subject of your meeting is planting the family garden. 

 We will also suppose that you have not a practical gardener 

 among your whole number. What is to be done ? Simply this. Let 

 each one study up some branch of it as best he can, and relate 

 his knowledge and experience with regard to it. For instance, 

 one of your speakers tells how he has either made or known 

 made an excellent asparagus bed ; and does it in the following 

 manner. " Select a piece of rich land that is well drained, — and 

 in fact, no land should be used for a garden that is not well 

 drained, — manure it heavily, plow it under as deep as you can. 

 After harrowing or raking it down level, make trenches with a 

 plow or otherwise, about three feet apart. Make them not les3 

 than six inches deep, seven still better. Get good strong roots, 

 either one or two years old, and put them in your furrows or 

 trenches, about eighteen inches apart, spreading out the roots in 

 as near their natural position as po-sible. If you can have more 

 manure to put on the roots be'bre c Bering with earth, all the 

 better, always remembering that this is one of the crops, for 

 which the land cannot be made too rich. After the manure is 

 put on, fill the furrows, level off the bed, and the great bugbear, 

 to a great many, of making an asparagus bed is complete." All 

 that is necessary the first year is to cultivate it sufficiently to 

 keep down the weeds. The following spring cut off the tops and 

 burn them, and then put on more manure, and dig it under, being 

 careful not to dig so deep as to disturb the roots of the plants. 

 The second year you may cut a little from your bed. In reality it 

 should be cut only a few times the second season, for fear of 



