12 THE BOOK OF VEGETABLES 



for garden practice the careful setting of the roots in 

 trenches is advisable. The depth of setting, which 

 formerly was as much as eighteen inches 

 (delaying the start in spring and more than 

 doubling the length of each shoot, most 

 of which was wasted) is now about six or 

 eight inches. 



Once set, the plants are usually allowed 

 to grow for two years before cutting, 

 although even then the cutting in the third 

 year should be light. It is possible, how- 

 ever, with plants sown deep and not trans- 

 planted, to take a light cutting in the third 

 year from seed. Cutting should never be 

 so heavy as to exhaust the plant ; the 

 rotation described below is advisable for all 

 plantations of any size, and the cutting 

 season (which commercial growers occasion- 

 ally prolong until July) is best finished 

 soon after the middle of June. It is the 

 habit of some gardeners to stop cutting 

 Asparagus when the first green peas are 

 ready to pick, thus allowing one delicacy 

 to supplant another. Blanching for cut- 

 ting is easily done, and varies, commer- 

 cially, with the market demand. 



The number of roots to be set out de- 

 Fig. 9. Shoot . ., . ~ T 

 of Asparagus pends upon the family requirements. Ma- 



