614 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



represent moie dollars than the fruit indiistn'. 1 may be mistaken, 

 but I will be surprised if the market gardening is not ahead of the 

 fruit industry. But as Mr. Hale said this morning, people are wild 

 on the ]>lanting of fruit. There is more poetry in it. Some way, 

 the growing of onions and cabbages, and so on, does not sound quite 

 as poetical as giowing i)eaches and a])})les with red cheeks. This 

 afternoon we are going to take up asparagus culture, and 1 am going 

 to talk with a view of trying to give informal ion to the bc^ginner. 

 I know some men in this audience are expert growers. I see on my 

 right Mr. lloi-ace Koberts. Keally, he is the man who should have 

 spoken on this subject this afternoon. And there is Mr. Garrahan 

 back there. I don't expect to say anything this afternoon that will 

 be helpful to them. 



It affords me great pleasure to discuss the culture of a crop 

 which ranks so high in the esteem of both grower and consumer. No 

 vegetable is more appreciated in its season and few, if any, offers 

 greater possibilities for field culture. There is a tremendous de- 

 mand for this crop on our city markets and the demand is increas- 

 ing annually. Very few of our markets, however, are well supplied 

 with asparagus and it is hoped that our vegetable growers in vari- 

 ous parts of the state will take a keener interest in the growing of 

 the crop for commercial purposes. The most wonderful truckers of 

 New Jersey are obtaining a gross income of from .f800 to |500 to 

 the acre and there is no reason why the progressive farmers of Penn- 

 sylvania should not realize just as large returns. This vegetable 

 should also be much more generally grown for the home table. 

 Every village garden should have a plot cultivated by the most in- 

 tensive methods. The kitchen gardens of the 225,000 farms in the 

 State shoirld also contain a few rows of asparagus. It is ready 

 for the table early in the spring, long before onions and other early 

 vegetables in the open ground are large enough and cuttings may be 

 made daily until about the first of July. No other vegetable will take 

 its place at this season of the year. 



Varieties. — While many varieties are cultivated, only a few are 

 grown extensively. Palmetto is by far the most important variety. 

 It is grown most extensively in all of the large producing districts. 

 The shoots aie of good size and of fine quality. This variety seems 

 to be more resistant to rust than any other and this is perhaps the 

 main reason for its popularity. 



Argenteuil, a French variety, has attracted considerable atten- 

 tion in recent years. There are two strains of this variety, known as 

 Early and Late Argenteuil. The varieties are not apparently well 

 adapted to clay soil but they have been at least fairly successful in 

 the sandy types of New Jersey and elsewhere. 



Conover's Colossal is an old variety which has been grown ex- 

 tensively in Pennsylvania and other states in the Union. Because 

 of the smaller shoots, the variety should not be recommended for 

 general cultivation. 



Barr's Mammoth. Beading Mammoth, Dreer's Eclipse and Cali- 

 fornia Mammoth White are excellent varieties for either the home 

 garden or commercial plantation. 



Soil. — While a sandy loam is unquestionably the ideal soil for 

 the growing of asparagus, this crop is grown successfully on a great 

 variety of soil types. A sandy soil is especially desirable for grow- 



