22 ASPARAGUS 
tinct. Generally these varieties differ only in a single 
characteristic, and these differences, for the most part, 
are so little that they are lost when grown under 
different climatic and soil conditions. The best-in- 
formed authorities recognize three cultivated varieties, 
which have distinét commercial chara¢teristics and 
whose seeds reproduce them in the seedlings. 
German Giant.—This variety embraces most of the 
German and French sorts—the Giant Dutch Purple, 
Ulm Giant, Giant Brunswick, Large Erfurt, Early 
Darmstadt, and many others. 
Argenteuil.—Of this three sub-varieties are recog- 
nized—the early, intermediate, and late; and these are 
the kinds grown almost exclusively in the vicinity of 
Paris, France, where its culture and improvement have 
steadily developed for centuries. Under good culture 
the late Argenteuil produces stalks from three to six 
inches in circumference, at eight inches below the tips. 
Yellow Burgundy.—The distinctive characteristic 
of this variety is that the young shoots below the sur- 
face of the soil are light yellow instead of white to tips, 
being greenish-yellow. It is also claimed to be more 
rust-resisting than other European sorts. 
VARIETY TESTS 
To determine the comparative effects of manuring 
on different varieties of asparagus, and also their com- 
parative earliness, Prof. S. C. Mason and his assistant, 
W. L. Hall, of the Kansas Experiment Station, have 
made some interesting and instructive experiments, 
