TRUCK FAEMING. 613 



\Vlj«',n they are from 4 to G inches above ground they should be cut by 

 pnssiiij? the edge of the knife drawn along the shoot and severing far 

 oiiough below the surface to make the bunches after trimming 8 inches 

 long. A plantation in full bearing may be cut daily, but not longer than 

 a bout four weeks for fear of weakening theplants. The bunches should l)e 

 compactly made of assorted "grass," (with the help of an asparagus 

 buncher), 4 inches in diameter, 8 inches long, squarely trimmed, weigh- 

 ing 2 J pounds each, and tied firmly with bast or raffia near the crowns 

 and again near the bases. Uniformity of packages is desirable, but as 

 it is sold by the bunch, it may be put up in other than the usual bushel 

 crate. The bunches should all be placed upright, and if in more than 

 one layer, the buds of the lower should be protected by some soft iu- 

 terveuing material like moss. 



The first arriving in New York sells for about $12 per dozen, but soon 

 drops to $9, to $6, and lower. 



The original cost of a planting with home-grown plants is $100 per 

 acre. 



To save seed the stalks should be cut when the former are scarlet and 

 ripe, to be stripped by hand or threshed off on a cloth or floor, then 

 pounded in a wooden mortar with a wooden pestle to break the outer 

 shells. The seeds are then frequently washed to float away the chaff, 

 dried in the sun and air and stored. Asparagus is subject to injury 

 from the following insects: (1) The Asparagus Beetle {Criocerisasparagi), 

 (2) the Zebra Caterpillar {Mamestra picta), and (3) the Smeared Dagger 

 {Acronycta oUinita). The former has been very destructive at the North, 

 particularly on Long Island. It has not yd reached Georgia, nor are 

 the other two insects very injurious. 



The Bean—bush oe snap (Phaseolus vulgaris). 



The bean, a tender annual, a native of India, can be grown to matu- 

 rity in so short a time from the sowing of the seed, six weeks, and it is 

 so generally popular at the North that in the neighborhood of the 

 cities it is one of the most important vegetables of the truck farmer. 



The flat podded Early Mohawk is the hardiest and earliest variety, 

 but it only sells well before the more popular, more tender, and less 

 stringy round kinds come into market, of which the Early Valentino 

 and Extra Early Valentino are the favorites. 



The several varieties of German Wax-beans are fine and command the 

 best prices when of good quality, but they become spotted more readily 

 and are not as extensively grown as the others. 



This vegetable is so tender that no time can be given definitely for 

 planting it. For the latitude of Savannah, accordingto season, approxi- 

 mately from the 20th February to the middle of March; later to the 

 northward and earlier to the southward. In the south of Florida it may 

 be safe to plant at any time in the winter and in the middle of the State 

 as early as January 10. Formerly vegetables regarded as out of season 

 would be nearly unsalable, but now beans sell in limited quantities as 

 early as March, bringing fair prices at the North. 



A sandy loam suits it best, but the lightest land of the farm may bo 

 appropriated to the bean crop, and green or fresh stable manure is bet- 

 ter ndapted to it than to any other vegetable. 



Straight furrows having been laid off 2^ feet apart on land previously 

 well t)rei tared by plow and harrow, the manure is drilled in at the rate of 

 30 \y Hgou-ioads of about 30 bushels each and covered by the plows. The 



