CHAP. IV VILLA GARDENING 413 



one year's growth from the seed ; but if the land is in first-rate 

 trim in March I should prefer to sow the seeds in the place where 

 they are to remain. Transplanted plants always lose a little time 

 in establishing themselves, and if they are kept out of the ground 

 any length of time they will lose strength. In making an Aspara- 

 gus plantation on a site not quite first-rate, it is far better to sow 

 the seeds on the site and not transplant, than to buy ; and it 

 would be the worst practice to import plants from a superior kind 

 of soil to an inferior one, as the probability is that many of them 

 would dwindle and die, and the plantation be a failure. I re- 

 member a case where a clergyman, living in an upland district, 

 had a present of a lot of one-year Asparagus plants from a friend 

 living in the Fens — strong vigorous plants, with robust -looking 

 crowns ; but they could not accommodate themselves to their 

 altered circumstances, and turned out a complete failure. Had 

 seeds been sown on the spot, and the young plants thinned out to 

 the requisite distance when large enough to make a selection, time 

 would have been gained. In fact, I always think Asparagus plants 

 should be raised at home, if possible. Where sowing on the site 

 of the proposed plantation is not convenient, it is customary to 

 sow and prepare the bed in some other part of the garden. Some- 

 times the seeds are sown broadcast and covered from a quarter to 

 half an inch deep with light rich soil, and if the surface of the 

 soil be dry, just Hatten down with the back of the spade ; but I 

 jDrefer to sow in drills half an inch deep, and about 8 or 9 inches 

 apart, as the plants will only occupy the bed one year. Another way 

 of raising Asparagus plants, and by which some little time is gained, 

 as the seeds take a long period to germinate, is to sow in boxes 

 about the middle of March, and stand the boxes in a gentle hotbed 

 till the seeds germinate, and then move them to a light position 

 close to the glass to strengthen and prepare them for })lanting out. 

 The transplanting from the boxes to the beds nuist be carefully 

 done, so that none but the very longest roots may be lost ; and the 

 shortening process to which long roots have to submit in trans- 

 planting is not altogether a loss, as it generally leads to the gain 

 of a great many roots perhaps better adapted for carrying on the 

 work of the plant. Whether we transplant from the seed-bed 

 or from boxes in the way last suggested, some time during the 

 month of April (early or late in the month, according to the 

 season) is the best time to plant. If there is space under glass 

 some time will be gained by sowing the seeds in February in pans 

 or pots, and placing them in a hotbed, potting off as soon as they 

 are large enough to move, and growing them under glass till May, 

 shifting the plants into larger pots as they require it. This is 



