84 ASPARAGUS 
cut after the 1st, particularly if the season has been 
a favorable one. Except on old and well-established 
plantings, cutting should not extend for more than six 
or seven weeks. Some growers cut asparagus as long 
as it pays to ship, regardless of the damage done to the 
plants. The old rule to discontinue cutting asparagus 
when green peas are abundant is a safe one to follow, 
especially in the home garden. Unlike other crops, 
about as much can be cut each day, or at each cutting, 
as the day before, during the season, varying only 
according to the weather. 
Manner of cutting. —The mode of cutting aspara- 
gus varies according to the requirements of the mar- 
kets, whether green or white stalks are desired. What- 
ever individual preferences may be, the fact is that in 
New York City, and some other large market centers, 
75 per cent. of the asparagus sold is white or blanched, 
and it would be useless to try to persuade the buyers 
to take any other. To show how extreme the con- 
victions are in this matter of taste, we quote from 
Prot. J. F. C. Du Pre, of the Clemson Agnesitiiea 
College: ‘‘ Why any one should prefer the almost 
tasteless, insipid white to the green ‘grass,’ into 
which the sunshine has put the flavor of ambrosia, 
is beyond my comprehension.’’ On the other hand, 
Lebceuf, the famous asparagus expert of Argenteuil, 
writes: ‘‘ Properly blanched asparagus is infinitely 
more tender and delicate than green. ‘To serve up 
green asparagus is to dishonor the table.’’ 
In recent years a compromise has been made be- 
tween the two styles. By allowing the tops of the 
hilled-up sprouts to grow four inches above the sur- 
