10 
any other stalks, and the blooms on the female plants will be fertilized 
with the pollen of the selected male plants. This is of importance, for 
on proper fertilization depends the purity of the seed as well as the 
vigor of the resultant plants. 
Not all seed of even a good plant properly fertilized should be used 
for reproduction, as of the seed gathered from any plant some will be 
better than others. Only the largest, plumpest, best-matured seed 
should be used, for by saving these the most nearly typical plants of 
the sort will be more certainly produced. The selection of the best 
seed from typical plants is as essential to success as are good soil, 
thorough cultivation, and heavy manuring. 
The best seed are produced from the lower part of the stalk, hence 
it is well to top the plant after the seed are well set, taking off about 
10 inches, and to remove the berries from the upper branches, that 
all the strength may go to the full development of the more desirable 
berries. If, after this has been done, there is more than sufficient seed 
for the purpose desired, a second discrimination can be made between 
the seed of plants which produce numerous berries and those which are 
shy bearers, the latter being desirable, as this indicates a tendency in 
the plant to produce stalk rather than fruit, and it is as a stalk producer 
that asparagus is valuable. 
Harvesting, cleaning, and preserving the seed is, of course, to be 
done carefully; the separation of the heavy and light seedcan beaccom- 
plished by means of water, while the larger can be selected from the 
resultant mass by the use of a properly meshed sieve. 
When the berries are scarlet red and fully ripe, the entire plant is cut 
near the ground and put away where it is free from rain or dampness, 
and safe from the attack of birds or from other damage. 
When there is somewhat more leisure, the berries are stripped off, 
soaked in water for thirty-six or forty-eight hours to soften the skin 
and pulp of the berry, and then rubbed between the hands until the 
black seed are freed entirely from the pulp. Spread and dry and put 
away in a paper or linen bag until needed. It is not wise to use seed 
over 2 years old, although they will retain some vitality for several 
years. 
Fresh seed may be distinguished by the uniform smooth surface and 
the brilliantly black scale; the old seed have a smutty, gray color, and 
the surface is much roughened and wrinkled. One pound of seed will 
produce about 3,000 sprouts, and should be sown in a light, rich, sandy 
soil in rows about 15 inches apart and 14 inches deep; so thinly should 
the seed be sown that the plants will not stand closer than 1} or 2 
inches, and these should afterwards be thinned by hand to about 3 
inches apart, care being taken to leave the strongest and most thrifty 
shoots. 
Careful weeding and hoeing are needed throughout the growing 
season, and in dry weather irrigation will greatly increase their growth. 
