THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



437 



clay sul)S(jil, which should be well drained. Broadcast 

 manure freely and plow it under deeply. Rake fine 

 and plow out furrows six feet apart and spade these 

 furrows out to a depth of fifteen inches. Big asparagus 

 needs plenty of room for root development. When 

 planting use fine, well-rotted manure, of which hand- 

 fuls are dropped two feet apart in the ditch, well mixed 

 with top soil and forming a little hill in which three 

 or four seeds are sown very shallowly. Water well. 

 If shoots sprout up, thin out to the strongest plant and 

 fill up with two or three inches of top soil, well mixed 

 with fine manure. Repeat this filling at intervals of 

 two weeks, until the level of the ground is reached. 

 Frequent hoeing, keeping the soil mellow and free of 

 weeds, is of great importance. A lasting fertilizer, like 

 ground bone, can be used at the first filling up. Plant- 

 ing seed requires a trifle more labor than planting 

 roots, but this is offset by the vigorous growth of the 

 young plants. Roots are always set back when re- 

 planted. 



Though size is the result of breeding from large 

 stalk-producing roots, flavor can be obtained by sup- 

 plying the roots with a well-balanced plant food, in 

 which potash is the main factor. I use for each acre 

 ten tons of manure as a top dressing, well harrowed in. 

 Five tons are applied in early spring and five in 

 July after cutting ceases. This is essential to good 

 cultivation, as it gives the -weakened roots a chance to 

 regain their vigor. Besides manure I use 600 pounds 

 of fertilizer, composed of 400 pounds of rock phosphate 

 and 200 pounds of muriate of potash for each acre. 

 The latter is 50 per cent, potash, therefore 100 pounds 

 of pure potash is supplied to each acre. This makes 

 the spears tender, solid and of the finest flavor. For 

 nitrogen I use green crops planted between the row; 



and plowed under. Asparagus should not be cut be- 

 fore the head has formed and ripened. — Exchange. 



SWISS CHARD. 



Gardeners who demand a steady supply of greens 

 will do well to investigate the merits of this vegetable. 

 Botanically, Swiss Chard is a species of beets. It 

 forms no roots, however, its eatable portion consisting 

 of the succulent leaf stalks and pretty "savoj'ed" or 

 curly leaves. 



Swiss Chard or "Spinach Beet," as it is often called, 

 is an ideal vegetable for home gardens. Sown exactly 

 like beets, the young seedlings should be "thinned" to 

 stand six inches apart in the row when they are three 

 inches high. They will grow rapidly and as soon as 

 they crowd each other, every other plant should be 

 cut out. These will furnish the first "greens" of that 

 type at about the middle of Jul}' from seed sown early 

 in May. End of July the rows, which should be about 

 three feet apart, will be in full bearing. 



In harvesting this crop of greens, always cut the out- 

 side stalks. The plants grow from the center and 

 Swiss Chard proves a real "cut and come again" crop, 

 so long as the heart of plants is not disturbed. \\'hen 

 marketing this type of "greens," call your customers' 

 attention to the fact that you are selling them a vege- 

 table from which they can prepare two nice dishes. 

 The heavy creamy-white leaf stalks may be cooked and 

 served with a dressing, like asparagus. The leafy por- 

 tion of leaves will make an elegant, juicy and delicious 

 spinach. — \^egetable Grower. 



INTERNATIONAL FLOWER SHOW 



New York, April 5-12, 1913 



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SUTTON'S 



FLOWER & VEGETABLE 



whicli have gained during the past cen- 

 tury more than 550 GOLD MEDALS 

 and other honors at the leading" exhibi- 

 tions throughout the world, including 

 the highest awards at the Royal Liter- 

 national Horticultural Show, London, 

 1912, for Plants Grown from Seed. 

 Full particulars will be found in SUT- 

 TON'S GARDEN SEED CATA- 

 LOGUE for 1913. Those who have 

 not received a copy of this publication 

 should write at once to 



SUTTON & SONS 



Seedsmen to Hi, Majetly King George V. 



READING, ENGLAND 



