292 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



first instance strong, it is possible that they may put up one or two 

 heads each late in the summer, hut more generally they do not do 

 so until the following summer. When Globe artichokes are well 

 grown, they are striking objects, but the majority of plants which 

 we see in small gardens are so stunted and starved, that people have 

 not the opportunity of judging of their merits as ornamental plants. 

 The Jerusalem Artichoke is a well-known subject, not for its 

 merits as a vegetable in particular, but for its usefulness as a screen 

 to shut out any unsightly object, which it will do effectually if 

 planted in a good soil. They are not particular as to soil, but they 

 produce the largest roots when grown in a light free loam, and some- 

 what shaded by a wall or fence. They should be planted in lines 

 two feet apart, and eighteen inches between the plants, using 

 moderate sized roots for planting. 



AsPAEAGUS. — This should be planted in beds five feet wide, four 

 rows at twelve inches apart in the bed, with a two-feet alley between 

 each two beds. This requires liberal culture ; therefore, if the natural 

 soil of the garden is too stiff and cold, or too sandy, it must be 

 removed, and some more brought to replace it. The asparagus 

 delights in a free open loam, with a well-drained under surface, and 

 this as far as possible should be obtained. It will also do exceedingly 

 well in any moderately light soil, providing there is a good depth 

 and it is annually manured. In a cold clay soil I have used old 

 mortar, containing a portion of broken bricks and coarse coal-ashes, 

 also coarse road-sand and small chalk, with good effect. All these 

 ingredients assist to make a clay soil more open and porous, and 

 the roots of asparagus delight to ramify amongst such matter. 

 Besides the above, a heavy dressing of half rotten manure will be 

 required at the time of making the beds. The beds should be dug 

 out, as above stated, to the width of five feet, and twelve inches deep, 

 the bottom soil should then be deeply stirred up, and upon this a 

 thick layer of dung, and any of the above-named ingredients that 

 the soil may require. On this place six inches of earth, and then 

 stir the whole up together ; give another layer of well-rotted dung, 

 and the remainder of the soil on the top of that. The bed is now 

 ready for planting or sowing. For the ultimate success of the beds I 

 prefer to sow seed in drills a foot apart, and thin out to the same 

 distance, as seedling plants work more evenly in the soil, and there 

 do not occur those gaps in the beds as are almost sure to follow 

 when they are planted. But this necessitates that the cultivator 

 should wait until the fourth season after planting before he begins 

 cutting any grass. It is not so when two-year-old plants are used, 

 as then the time is reduced by one-half. Presuming that the beds 

 are to be planted, and that they have been prepared early in March, 

 I would secure the plants early in April, and then rake off about 

 two inches of the top soil of the beds, and spread out evenly and 

 regularly the plants upon the surface ; the roots must then be covered 

 over with some nice fine earth two inches deep. The sides of the 

 beds should be neatly made up, and the alleys manured and trenched 

 up for a crop of spring cauliflower. This operation being completed, 

 I must now warn the cultivator against growing upon the beds them- 



