HARVESTING AND MARKETING 85 
face, the upper half of the stalk is green while the 
lower half remains white. 
For green asparagus the sprouts are cut shen SIX 
or seven inches high, and then only so far below the 
surface as to furnish a stalk about nine inches long. 
For the white style the rows have to be ridged twelve 
inches above the crowns, and the stalks are cut assoon 
FIG. 23—BASKET OF ASPARAGUS READY FOR THE BUNCHING 
SHED 
as the tops show above the ground, the cutting off 
being eight or nine inches below the surface. 
Whichever method is followed, it is very impor- 
tant to cut every day during the season, and to cut 
clean at each cutting, taking all the small sprouts as 
well as the large ones. If the weak and spindling 
shoots are allowed to grow they will draw away the 
strength from the roots, to the injury of the crop. 
When cutting, the sprout is taken in the left hand 
