86 



The Canadian Horticiilf/tiiit. 



old hay to an}- one who has been 

 accustomed to the richness and 

 dehcate flavor of shoots cut at the 

 surface when they are from three to 

 four inches in height ; this method 

 has also the advantage of not destroy- 

 ing the young shoots just coming up, 

 as the stalks are only cut an inch or 

 so under ground, and the knife only 

 reaches the one intended to be cut. 

 If the appearance of blanched aspar- 

 agus is desired it can be much better 

 obtained by placing four or five 

 inches of hay, or other litter, over the 

 crowns, which can be pushed away 

 from the stalk when cutting, and 

 easily replaced. There is another 

 strong reason for not following the 

 deep planting, as usually practised, 

 and that is, in having your crowns 

 so much nearer the surface they feel 

 the warming and growing influence 

 of the sun sooner in the season, and 

 you are able to have your asparagus 

 for cutting a full week earlier than 

 your neighbor who plants deep. 



The old Purple Top variety is no 

 longer grown, its place having been 

 taken by the larger shoots and better 

 quality of the variety known as Con- 

 over's Colossal. This variety, how- 

 ever, has been propagated so exten- 

 sively and with so little care that it 

 is now almost impossible to obtain 

 seed, or plants, that will produce the 

 splendid shoots of the original stock. 

 Of the new varieties Barr's Mam- 

 moth seems to be the most promising, 

 and as grown in some fields in the 

 vicinity of Philadelphia produces 

 shoots which will average nearly an 

 inch in diameter. 



A writer in T/ie Fruit Groover, 111 , 

 says : — 



About 4,000 acres of asparagus are 

 required to supply Boston. One grower 

 had the same bed forty-five years. 

 Sandy soil, with plenty of manure an- 

 nually, is preferred. Four feet by two 

 is the preferred distance from root to 

 root. Sprouts become crooked from 

 bruises or wounds. Salt is not essen- 

 tial, but useful to kill weeds. Captain 

 Moore, the prizetaker, used none. Mr. 



Tapley raised asparagus where the tides 

 ran over the beds at times, showing 

 that salt does no harm to it. Mr. 

 Wyman had some on ground trenched 

 three feet deep, and some on land 

 merely ploughed ; the latter did the 

 best through twenty years. Deep set- 

 ting, say six to eight inches, is best, 

 because the stools gradually rise in 

 the soil, and because when set deep 

 cultivation is easier, and the sprouts are 

 less numerous, and therefore larger. 

 But the covering should be sandy. 



Vinegar from Rhubarb. 



16. Can vinegar be made out of rhubarb 

 juice ? If so, how is it done ? 



1 have tried it, but I have not got vinegar 

 yet. Should water be mixed with juice, etc ? 

 — J. A. Camerand, Sherbrooke, P.Q. 



Reply by C. H. Godfrey, Benton Harbor, Mich. 



I can only give a receipt which I 

 have. I never have used it. It is 

 as follows : — Take twelve stalks of 

 Pie Plant, bruise them and pour on 

 five gallons water. After standing 

 twenty-four hours, strain and add 

 nine pounds brown sugar and a 

 small cup of yeast ; keep warm a 

 month, strain it and keep in cask 

 until sour enough. 



Vinegar should be kept in a warm 

 place to make fast, unless a genera- 

 tor is used. 



Fpontignan Grapes. 



17. Let me know through your paper or 

 otherwise if the Auvergne Frontignon Grape 

 can be grown out doors. I see it is a very 

 early grape and I should presume a French- 

 man by the name. By so doing you will 

 bestow a favor upon — F. W. Porter. 



There are several varieties of 

 foreign grapes called Frontignan's, 

 as the Black, White, Grizzly Frontig- 

 nan, etc., all so called from the town 

 of that name in France, where they 

 are largely cultivated for making the 



