ASPARAGUS 15 



occupy the whole of it. For blanching, the rows should 

 not be closer than four feet. 



From seed. A gardener who wishes the best results 

 will do well to grow his own plants. Seed-bed culture 

 should be as follows : 



Choose rich, well-drained land in good tilth and 

 freed of weeds by a few hoeings ; sow the seed as soon 

 as the ground is fit if necessary, but best after the 

 weeds have sprouted and been killed. Soak the seed. 



Sow the seed very sparsely, not nearer than an 

 inch apart, at a depth of an inch ; rows should be 

 eighteen inches or more apart. As soon as the plants 

 have sprouted, thin to as much space as can be given to 

 the plants, one foot if possible. Three inches apart is 

 the least space that should be given in the seed-bed. 



Deep planting gives much better results ; on the 

 same land the deep-sown plants have in the same season 

 resisted rust for some weeks later than the shallow-sown. 

 For this reason, as well as to save the labor of trans- 

 planting in the second spring, plants should be sown 

 where they are to stand, if the space can be spared. 

 There is no economy in not giving the space, as deep- 

 sown plants will yield a light cutting in the third year 

 from seed, as stated above. 



By this method sow the seed in trenches, six to 

 eight inches below the surface ; cover with an inch of 

 soil. Sow the seeds an inch apart, or sow several seeds 

 near each other at the permanent distances. Thin to 



