148 ASPARAGUS 
400 pounds; and fine ground bone, 600 pounds per 
acre. The shoots will appear about May 5th, and 
should be cut for about two weeks; then let them grow 
up and cultivate well during the season. 
_ Home-mixing of fertilizer is practiced by some of 
the growers in this vicinity, as it is cheaper and better. 
Any intelligent farmer can, with a little study, pur- 
chase and mix the raw materials to advantage. Not 
so much fertilizer is used as formerly by our growers, 
who are beginning to think that we use more plant 
food than the crop needs, thus throwing away many 
dollars each year. The cost of an acre of asparagus 
when properly planted and manured is about two hun- 
dred dollars, varying with the cost of help, manure, etc. 
The average product of asparagus beds is about two 
hundred and eighty-eight dozen bunches per acre— 
probably less since the rust appeared in 1897. 
Asparagus is grown largely on Cape Cod. There 
the roots are planted in rows six feet apart and four or 
five feet in the row. Seaweed is used largely in con- 
nection with fertilizer and manure. Various grains, 
oats, rye, etc., are sometimes sown to prevent the soil 
being blown away. ‘The method of culture is much 
the same as elsewhere. 
At Concord the asparagus season opens usually — 
about May 5th. ‘The shoots are cut two or three 
inches under ground and should be about eight inches 
in length. These are laid in handfuls on the ground 
by the cutter, each one cutting two rows. The prod- 
uct of four rows is laid in one row, making what is 
called a ‘‘ basket row.’’ These ‘‘ basket rows’’ are 
gathered in baskets, boxes, or wheelbarrows, and taken 
