22 



JOUENAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ January 9, 18£8. 



It will be seen that I have refraiued as much as possible from 

 •enteiing upon cultural details, as the culture of all the plants 

 named has been fully given in past numbers of " our Journal." 

 I shall be glad, however, if these few remarks should call forth 

 any additional hints which others may have to offer on this 

 .fiubject. — Edward Luckuurst, Egertun House Gardens, Kent. 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



(Continued from Vol. XIII., page 441.) 

 In marliing-ont the beds it is well to arrange so that some of 

 ■them shall run cast and west, and present their sides to the 

 sun's rays when these are most direct and powerful, for in this 

 way they have greater effect than when the beds run north and 

 tfiouth, and the consequence is the beads are produced some- 

 what earlier than in beds having their ends to the sun's rays 

 -at mid-day. The beds most hkely to afford an early produce 

 are those 3 feet wide, and they should run east and west. For 

 the general supply it is quite immaterial whether the beds run 

 •east and west, or north and south. 



The beds and alleys being marked out at the requisite dis- 

 tance, a stout peg of some durable wood, as oak or elm (but 

 mot the sap wood, as that decays quite as soon as larch), should 

 he driven in at each corner of the beds ; the pegs ought to 

 be of sufficient length to be firm in the ground, and yet have 

 their tops G inches above its surface, and they will for a num- 

 ber of years indicate the position of the beds and alleys. 

 5Irom the stakes or pegs the distances for the rows are to be 

 measured ; and a line being stretched, a trench should be cut 

 out as for laying Box, only it wiU need to be made deeper, so 

 that the roots may be laid out straight without bending, or 

 ■doubling-up their ends. On the other side of the line a corre- 

 sponding cut or trench should be made, which will leave a 

 sharp ridge, both the cuts being made in a slanting manner 

 -from the line. The trenches will require to be about 'J inches 

 ■deep. The planter should fake hull the roots in one hand, 

 .and half in the other, place the plant astride the ridge, and 

 . spread out the roots like a fan against the sides of the cuts. 

 -A little fine soil should bo drawn over the roots, and the 



-trenches or cuts ought to be filled level with the crowns of the 

 plants with some light sandy soil, enriched by mixing with it 

 an equal quantity of leaf mould and well-rotted manure. This 

 will prove rery beneficial to the plants ; but if the soil is na- 

 turally light and rich this compost may be dispensed with, only 

 it is well to cover the roots in all cases with some decomposed 

 vegetable matter, making it pretty firm about the roots. In 

 planting, -onmc are content to make but one cut, and spread out 

 the roots like a fan against the cut. This answers very well ; 

 indeed, there are many ways of planting, but the two named I 

 think best. 



In planting, the crowns of the plants should be kept all on 



'the same level, and they ought to be covered with 2 inches of tine 

 soil, or be kept that depth below the surface. The plants 

 ought to be carefully taken up with a fork, preserving the roots 

 as entire as possible ; and they should be kept as little exposed 

 to the air as can be, so that they may not become dried — indeed, 

 tliey ought to be immediately covered when taken up, and when 

 planted no time should be lost in covering them with soil. A 

 good watering should be given after planting, and the plantation 

 must be well watered for ten days or a fortnight, unless the 

 weather be showery. Planting ought not to be done when the 

 ground is very wet ; showery weather is best. 



The best time to plant Asparagus is when the plants have 

 begun to grow, and have shoots from 6 to 10 inches in length. 

 The beginning of May is a very good time, and they may be 

 safely planted up to the middle of June. I am aware that 

 March is the usual time for planting Asparagus, and to doing 

 so then there is little objection if the soil is light and dry ; but 

 when it is cold and wet, as it very often is in March, many of 

 the roots perish before vegetation begins. 'When planting is 

 performed from May to the beginning of June, the plants' 

 juices are active and the soil warm : hence immediate growth 

 is encouraged. Planting in March, so far as my experience goes, 

 is attended with gaps in the rows, no matter how well the 

 operation is performed, and how great the after-care ; whilst 

 planting in May or June insures every plant growing and 

 making more progress than those planted twe months earlier. 

 In replacing plants failing in plantations made in March by 

 fresh plants in June, with shoots S inches to a foot in length, 

 there is a vast difference in the growth ; for although those 



_ planted in Jime may wither and turn brown at the top, they 



invariably make a better and stronger growth, and are easily 

 distinguished from the March-planted. Under these circum- 

 stances I am persuaded that Asparagus is best planted when 

 it is growing freely. 



The best plants are those one year old, but two-year-old 

 plants succeed admirably in soils favourable for Asparagus cul- 

 ture, whilst in unfavourable soils one-year-old plants are best. 

 In light soils I would employ two-year-old plants, and in heavy 

 soils those one year old. 



The plants are raised from seed, which should he sown in 

 good, rich, light, sandy soU in the beginning of April. It is 

 best sown in drills ; five in a 4-feet bed, the two outer drills 

 6 inches from the sides of the beds, and the three inner drills 

 9 inches apart. One-foot alleys will be sufficient to allow be- 

 tween the beds. The drills may be made from half an inch to 

 three-quorters of an inch deep, and should be covered or filled 

 with line soil when the seed is sown, as it ought to before the 

 drills become dry. Sow it thinly rather than thickly. The 

 beds should be kept clear of weeds, and the plants should be 

 thinned-out to 2 inches apart, the strongest being retained. 



As to kind or sort, it is known that there is but one sort of 

 Asparagus. The Gravesend, Mortlake, Deptford, Reading, Bat- 

 tersea, Grayson's Giant, Dutch Eed-topped and Green-topped, 

 are all simple varieties of the same plant, due to the variation 

 of soil, situation, climate, and culture, one or other of which 

 induces different appearances. 



Instead of sowing and rearing the plants in nursery beds, and 

 afterwards transplanting them when one or two years old into 

 permanent beds, seed m-ay be sown in the first instance in 

 shallow drills at the distances already named for the rows of 

 plants ; and the seeds being sown about an inch apart, they 

 should be covered with half an inch of fine soil. The seedlings 

 ought to be thinned-out, when 2 or 3 inches in height, to a 

 distance of 1 foot in the rows, the strongest plants being left, 

 and the weakest taken out. It will be the fourth year before 

 the plants will be of sufficient strength to furnish Asparagus. 

 Beds thus made are quite equal to those planted with one or 

 two-year-old plants, and come into bearing quite as soon, only 

 there is for the first year an apparently great waste of ground ; 

 but this may be entirely avoided by taking a crop of Onions 

 the first year, and a good row of Cauliflower may be had in 

 each of the alleys. 



In the year of planting little will be required beyond keeping 

 the beds clear of weeds, frequently stirring the surface, taking 

 care at the same time not to injure the crowns with the hoe, 

 nor to go so deep as to injure the roots. In June the beds 

 may be well watered with liquid manure, and the application 

 may be repeated once a-week during any dry periods that may 

 occur in July and August. When the stalks are completely 

 yellow and withered in autumn, the surface should be lightly 

 stirred, and then receive a dressing of 3 inches thick of half- 

 rotten short manure, which ought to be covered about 1 inch 

 deep with soil from the alleys. Towards the close of February 

 the beds should be forked over carefully, not going so deep as 

 to injure the crowns, and the whole left rough. At the close 

 of March or early in April, according to the earliness or back- 

 wardness of the season, the soil of the beds ought to be stirred, 

 making it fine with a fork and raking, the rough lumps being 

 drawn off into the alleys. Line-oS the beds afresh, after 

 making them level for their full width, and fork over the alleys ; 

 and these and the beds having been made straight, the planta- 

 tion will have a neat appearance. This brings us to the end o£ 

 the first year alter planting. — G. Abbey. 

 (To be continaed.) 



WINTER-FLOWERING PLANTS. 

 It is very pleasing to observe the interest taken in winter- 

 blooming plants by the contributors to the Journal ; I think such 

 plants are an acquisition to any collection. Even Wallflowers 

 have come in for their meed of praise, and, humble as they are, 

 they have held a high place in my estimation for a number of 

 years. I cultivate the German varieties from seed, and several 

 of the old, many-coloured, double varieties, but especially the 

 orange. These I strike from cuttings in the spring in heat, 

 grow them on, stop them once during the summer, which 

 causes them to throw out side shoots, and pot them as may be 

 necessary, keeping them plunged in coal ashes, and supplying 

 them with water as they require it ; sturdy growth is thus 

 encouraged, and in the autumn they are placed in a cold pit. 

 As they throw up their spikes of bloom, they are removed to the 



