STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 51 
Asparagus. 
Mr. Emery. I would like to hear something as to the manner 
of getting a good asparagus bed on the farm. 
Mr. Hollister. This question has been answered a good many 
times. The trouble with the people is they do not like to take 
the time and necessary trouble at the beginning. I made my 
ground rich, plowed it well, and planted the asparagus 12 inches 
apart in rows. 
My. Elliot. Asparagus is one of the easiest things to cultivate, 
and it bears abundantly. Keep the bed clean from weeds the 
first year and you will have no trouble afterward. Keep the 
ground well manured. Plow ten or twelve inches deep, and 
plant roots one or two years old, not older than two years, in hills 
about three feet apart, with four or five feet between the rows. 
Don’t cut too early. Do not cut the first year and only slightly 
the second. Salt brine spread over the bed is very good,—nothing 
better. I usually cut to about the 20th of June. 
Mr. Harris. The best asparagus bed I know is that of a 
German, a neighbor of mine. He has very rich ground. He 
considers sheep and cattle manure the best. He plows as deep as 
possible the first time and then plows again, to mellow the ground 
up well. His rows are about three or four feet apart. The seed 
is about six inches below the surface, After the plants are pretty 
well established he thins them down till 16 inches apart. He 
covers his bed with manure every fall. Commenced cutting the 
third year. 
President Grimes. Is there more than one variety of aspar- 
agus? . 
My. Harris. J think there is. 
Garden Plow—Transplanter. 
Mr. Abernethy explained a plan of his with which he cau plow 
fast and easy. He pulls his implement after and says he does 
better and faster plowing than his neighbors do with the wheel 
hoe. He can throw the dirt on any side. [Being requested to 
bring it to the rooms for inspection, he said he would.] 
Mr. Hollister. I think the best thing of the new implements 
is the transplanter. It is good, simple and practical. Works 
like a post hole digger. 
My. Elliot. Think there are two distinct varieties of asparagus. 
