160 ASPARAGUS 
tilizer along these furrows and then turn for a third 
time, so as to enrich the ground immediately below the 
roots to be set out. ‘These furrows are run from four 
to six feet apart, the latter being considered the better 
usage. In them one-year-old plants are then set by 
hand at distances varying from eighteen inches to 
three feet. The former distance is preferred by the 
Italian growers on Bay Farm Island in San Fran- 
cisco Bay, but the Southern growers and those along 
the Sacramento River lean to the greater distance. 
The only difference seems to be whether there will be 
sufficient nutriment in the soil to force the plant into 
giving as large and tender shoots as where each plant 
is allowed a larger area. ‘The plants are set with the 
crowns about four inches below the surface and the 
roots are carefully spread out before covering. Plant- 
ing is done any time from November to April, but the 
middle of February is perhaps the most common time. 
The culture for the first year consists in keeping 
the soil loose and free from weeds. Ordinarily other 
crops are grown between the rows, and their cultiva- 
tion serves to keep the ground in proper condition. 
The asparagus is allowed to come up, feather, and seed 
without interference, no cutting being done the first 
year. Care, however, is taken to cut off the tops 
close to the ground in the fall before the seed begins 
to drop—the volunteer asparagus being the worst 
enemy in culture with which the grower has to deal. 
About the beginning of the rainy season a heavy coat- 
ing of manure is placed over the beds and left to be 
leeched in by the rains. 
The second year some growers cut more or less for 
