20 THE BOOK OF ASPARAGUS 



immediately, for generally at the planting season (the 

 middle or end of March) the sun and winds are very 

 drying, and this is very injurious to the plants, hardy as 

 they are. If any plants are still out of the ground when 

 night stops the work, they should be covered up with 

 mats or bags, and if such mats, etc., be made wet so 

 much the better. These little details, though small, are 

 by no means superfluous. 



Two or more men should now be getting out the 

 drills. I use the phrase " getting out," because they 

 should not be " drawn," as is generally done. The 

 long-handled Cornish spade is best for this work (see 

 Fig. 4). This tool will be new to many; but it is 

 admirably adapted for the purpose, for, by walking back- 

 wards, a man will easily shovel out the soil to a depth 

 of three inches, and the drill will be a foot wide. This 

 will allow room for the roots to be well spread out, as 

 should be very carefully done. There must in fact be 

 no careless work at this stage, as ultimate success or 

 otherwise depends on these preliminaries. All available 

 hands must be employed for this work of planting, 

 because there should be no lingering. The quicker the 

 plants are under the soil the better ; but before we begin, 

 we must settle the distance to be allowed between the 

 plants. As I have said, the more room the plants have the 

 larger the asparagus will be. The French know this, and 

 give much more room than we do. I have found a very 

 good distance between the rows is three feet, one foot 

 to eighteen inches being allowed from plant to plant. I 

 have also planted in rows three and a half feet apart, 

 and the results have reflected the greater space, so that 

 what the grower will be guided by is the size of the 

 asparagus he wishes to grow and the markets he is 

 about to supply. If he allow either of the above dis- 

 tances, he will, with good treatment, produce asparagus 

 of good quality. A line must be stretched across the 



