CULTIVATION OF UDO. 19 



occasionally there are three. After the removal of the last crop the 

 rootstocks are buried and allowed to remain over winter. In the 

 spring- the mounds are opened and rich manure is applied in trenches 

 running on both sides of the plants. Throughout the summer the 

 plants are allowed to grow and are again cut down in autumn and 

 treated in a similar way to that just described. The life of the kan 

 udo rootstock is more than ten years, but beyond that age its use ceases 

 to be profitable. 



Although o-enerallv grown from seed, this variety can be repro- 

 duced from root cuttings, though the latter method is considered less 

 practicable, owing to the fact that the large root cuttings take up 

 more space in the field. 



The season for kan udo is October and November, and being the 

 earliest variety and occupying the tields to the exclusion of other 

 crops it is also the dearest, sometimes selling for as much as 25 cents 

 for. a bundle of 1G shoots. It is not otherwise preferable in any way 

 to the other variety, which first appears in the market toward the end 

 of November. 



THE CULTIVATION OF MOYASHI UDO. 



The moyashi or forcing udo is grown from root cuttings, which are 

 purchased by the growers from special cultivators who have their 

 seed beds on the slopes of Fujiyama. These young sets, which have 

 been grown from seed the year before, are dug in November and kept 

 all winter packed in straw. They are bought in early spring by the 

 cultivators and kept ready for planting, which is done during March 

 and April. 



The root cuttings are laid lengthwise in a shallow trench about 4 

 inches apart, and in the space between them a small quantity of rich 

 manure is placed. They are then covered with -2 inches of soil. As 

 the leaves appear, the trench is gradually filled about their bases, and, 

 with the usual cultivation to keep down the weeds, the plants are 

 allowed to grow until the end of October, or until frost. These two- 

 year-old plants are then dug, the dead stems are removed, and the 

 plants packed away in a dry place until wanted for the forcing bed. 

 They may be kept for several months in this dry condition without 



injury. 



The forcing bed is made by digging a trench 3 feet wide and 2 feet 

 deep and putting on the bottom a thin layer of barley husks or a 

 sprinkling of bone dust, over which is spread an inch of rich, light 

 garden soil, mixed with about 1<> per cent of leaf mold. 



The dry udo sets, which are kept in stock, are packed as closely 

 top-ether as thev can stand in the bottom of the trench, which is tilled 

 in and heaped up with the same light soil. In about fifty days the first 



