32 ASPARAGUS 
ones rejected, it is not safe to count upon more than 
one-half of this number of good plants. The number 
of plants required for an acre varies according to the 
manner of planting. If planted in rows three feet 
apart and two feet in the rows, it will require 7,260 
plants per acre ; if planted three by four, 3,630 per acre. 
SOWING THE SEED WHERE THE PLANTS ARE TO 
REMAIN 
Growing asparagus without transplanting is gradu- 
ally finding many advocates among those who raise 
only the green article. It is not only a cheaper but 
in some respects a better method than the raising of 
the plants in a special seed-bed, from which they are 
transplanted after a year or two. ‘‘ The plan is very 
simple,’’ wrote Peter Henderson in American Agricul- 
turvist, ‘‘and can be followed by any one having even a 
slight knowledge of farming or gardening work. Inthe 
fall prepare the land by manuring, deep plowing, and 
harrowing, making it as level and smooth as possible for 
the reception of the seed. Strike out lines three feet 
apart and about two to three inches deep, in which 
sow the seed by hand or seed-drill, as is most con- 
venient, using from five to seven pounds of seed to 
each acre. After sowing, and before covering, tread 
down the seed in the rows with the feet evenly ; then 
draw the back of the rake lengthwise over the rows, 
after which roll the whole surface. 
‘* As soon as the land is dry and fit to work in the 
spring, the young plants of asparagus will start 
through the ground, sufficient to define the rows. At 
once begin to cultivate with hand or horse cultivator, 
