A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



If there is an asparagus bed, cut all the 

 seed-stalks down, carry away, and burn at 

 once. The ground between the rows will 

 require spading well, levelling the earth down 

 off the rows until not more than two inches 

 is left on the asparagus crowns. Until two 

 years ago we had followed the old-fashioned 

 custom of protecting the beds with manure 

 or straw; but a report of the good results 

 obtained at the New Jersey Agricultural 

 Experiment Station prompted our adopting 

 the new method, which has been most 

 satisfactory. 



Rhubarb is nearly always to be found on 

 a farm. Dig up the roots, if any one in the 

 family has as yet inhaled enough pure air to 

 provide the necessary strength to wield a 

 grub-hoe; for nothing else can dislodge the 

 huge, knobby boulders of what looks like 

 iron ore, which many years of undisturbed 

 growth creates. Leave them lying on the 

 surface exposed to any frost that may visit 

 you, for about a week. Then select a few 



56 



