1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



663 



most excellent kitid. There has been considera- 

 ble written upon the culture of asijarajrus, and 

 there are various opinions rct5poclin<r the best 

 method of cultivation. Eut leaving the reader to 

 choose uiiich s_vsteni he pleasns, I proceed to de- 

 tail the method I have adopted, and which I have 

 found to be completely successful. It is dillicult 



proach of cold weather, and alter the tops have 

 been killed by li-ost, Ihey sjiiould be cut down even 

 with the jfround and carried o(i': the bed .should 

 then be covered with two or three inches of horse 

 manure, which should remain on until sprin<r, 

 when it mu^^t be lorked into tlie snrliice o( the lied. 

 In doing this, be carelul not to injure the crowns 



to persuade those who have lor years continued to I of the roots. Just before the shoots make their 

 grow any kind ot" plants to tolerable perlection to | appearance, give the bed a good raking, which 



adopt new modes with the liopes of improvmg 

 upon the long-trodden path. In the month of 

 April or May, select a spot of ground sulPiciently 

 large to plant the number of roots intended. 11' 

 the plantation is to be large, and intended lor sup- 

 plying the market, the ground should be plough- 

 ed to a good depth; il' for a common kitchen gar- 

 den it should be trenched to the depth of lijurteen 

 inches. Make the surface of the bed level, after 

 this operation is perlbrmed, then proceed to luark 

 places to dig the trenches lor the roots; they 



will destroy the weeds that are starting to grow. 

 it is a bad praclice to plant asparagus beds with 

 radishes, lettuces, pcppergrass, &c. as I hey ex- 

 haust the goodness of the soil. The first year af- 

 ter planting, a few of the siioniiest shoots may be 

 cut, but very spai^ingly, as the roots will be all the 

 better afterwards. Coniinue to pursue the sanje 

 system of culture every year, and the roots will 

 rapidly increase in vijior. The soil that aspara- 

 gus seems most to delight in, is a light and rich 

 one, neither too wet nor too dry; when the soil is 



should be two and a half leet apart; stretch a line i shallow, the trenches must not be dug so deep as 



the whole length of the bed: draw the next two 

 and a half liom this, and so on to the whole 

 width. Then proceed to throw out the soil twelve 

 inches wide and twelve inches deep, laying it up 

 in ridges between each trench; after this is done, 

 tlirow in three or lour inches of manure, level the 

 same, and add about one inch of sod on the sur- 

 face scraped from the sides of the trenches; level 



above recommended. The manure I made use 

 of was fresh from the hog-pen, and somewhat 

 strawy; but I presume any good manure would 

 answer equally as well. The arparagus is a ma- 

 rine plant, and a light dressing of marsh mud in 

 the fall or spring seems to increase the growth of 

 the plants. I would recommend it when it can be 

 easily obtained. Beds prepared in this manner 



this also, and all is ready for planting. There are [ and yearly atrended to, will last for a great lengtfi 



different opinions respecting the age at which 

 roots should be planted; some gardeners prefer 

 one-year old roots, some two, and some even 

 three, when it is desired to have beds ready for 

 cutting as soon as possible set out; but 1 am 

 doubtliil whether much, if any thing, is gained by 

 this; for my own planting, I always prefer those 

 of two years of age; and rather than set out older 

 ones, I would have those of only one year; select 

 such only as have good fibres and a fine bold 

 crown. In setting out, place them six mches 

 apart, and lay out the fibres in regular order, and 

 not tumble them together, as is too often done to 

 the great injury of the plants. Much of their fu- 

 ture success I attribute to the care given in settirig 

 out. When all are planted, cover them with 

 about an inch of soil, and the work is all finish- 

 ed. The plants throughout the summer must be 

 kept clear of weeds, and occasionally hoed, and 

 by these operations and the sumiiaer rains, the 

 trenches will by October be filled up as level as 

 the bed was before setting out the roots. The 

 practice adopted by most, if not all growers of 

 this vegetable, is to set out the plants in deep 

 trenches, and cover them at once six or eight, and 

 in some instances twelve inches deep. Nothing 

 can be more injurious than this; ior a great part 

 of the roots seldom make shoots strong enough 

 to force their way through this depth of soil, and 

 consequently perish; or if they come up, they are 

 weak and small, and never afterwards attain to 

 any size. It is an old system, and, like that of 

 growing celery, now generally exploded, it should 

 be likewise. In the method I have adopted, the 

 roots have but a slight covering of earth when 

 planted, and the ycung shoots come forward very 

 fast; as they increase in vi^or, little more is added, 

 till, by the assistance of the heavy summer rains, 

 which wash the soil from the ridges into the 

 trenches, they are completely covered. Scarcely 

 a root has ever failed to grow. Upon the ap- 



of time, and the produce will be of superior quali- 

 ty. When I planted out my bed, I preierred 

 plants of one year's growth to older ones; they 

 can be set out with more care, tor this kind will,- 

 when spread on the bottom of the trench, require' 

 the trench to be from fen to twelve inches wide on' 

 the bottom, so as to spread your roots each way; 

 I have seen beds set of three year old plants li-om 

 which enough could not be obtained to pay the 

 setting out. When the roots are so large, it is im- 

 possible to set them out; even if they were ever so 

 good, the old roots decay, and fibres start anew. 

 In the following spring after setting my bed of 

 'plants of one year old, I cut grass of a good 

 size; since then I have frequenily had six spears 

 of the common length, which would weigh one 

 pound. I have occasionally exhibited specimens 

 from my bed at the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society's room. 



Sajiuel Pond. 

 Cambridgeport, Dec. 25th, 1837. 



From the Horticultural Register. 



MA1VAGE3IEIVT OF PLANTS AND FLOWEKS IN 

 ROOMS. 



By Edward Sayers. 



The present season is perhaps the most preca- 

 rious period inihe management of choice green- 

 house plants and'' flowers in rooms and small 

 green-houses; as plants at this time are shedding 

 their leaves, and generally in a dormant state; 

 therefore, they do not require either too much 

 heat or water, which in many cases starts the 

 growth of soft-wooded plants in a feeble state, as 

 the geranium, daphne and the like: on the contra- 

 ry, if plants are kept too dry, which in many cases 

 happens in warm rooms, the leaves drop off, and 

 contract a feeble habit, and the bark shrivels up 

 on the young branches. 



