A S P A R A G U S. 



215 



The business of planting is performed in two ways, 

 viz., by drawing drills with the hoe, in which the plants 

 are placed, spreading the roots right and left, the 

 crowns being set against the upright side of the drill, 

 and about two inches deep ; the removed earth being 

 afterwards drawn back over them. Another method 

 is to remove two inches of the whole surface of the 

 bed ; in this opening the plants are set by line, having 

 their roots spread out in their natural positions, and 

 afterwards covered up with the removed soil. The 

 distance from plant to plant in the rows may be 

 nine, ten, or twelve inches, according to the size of 

 the plants. 



ASPARAGUS OFKICIMAI.IS. a, flowers: *, corolla opened to show 

 the stamens ; c, pistil and ovary ; d, fruit ; e, horizontal section 

 of the fruit ; /, seed, magnified ; g, vertical section of the same. 



The summer management of such a plantation only 

 consists in keeping the ground free from weeds by 

 frequent hoeings, and paying attention that no deep- 

 rooting perennial weeds, such as docks, dandelion, 

 birdweed, &c., get established among the roots of the 

 crop ; for if they do, they are ever after a plague to 

 extirpate. 



It may be easily conceived that asparagus plants so 

 treated have every chance of succeeding. The soil 

 being open and rich gives every facility for the 

 range of the roots, and consequent enlargement of 

 the crowns and stems. In soils naturally rich, as the 

 alluvial deposits on the banks of rivers, or on sands 

 impregnated with much vegetable or animal matter, we 

 see asparagus succeed without any other preparation 

 than is made for other garden crops, viz., by a simple 

 digging; and it may be safely averred that this fa- 

 vourite vegetable may be had without half the trouble 

 and expense usually bestowed in laying it down. It 

 is well, however, to err on the safe side ; and wherever 

 planted as above directed no fears need be entertained 

 of success. 



To protect and strengthen the roots, it is an old 

 custom to cover the beds about the beginning of 

 November with short dung two or three inches thick, 

 above which is laid a coat of earth dug out of the 

 alleys. This is supposed to save the roots from 

 frost, and feed them with the juices washed down 

 from the covering of dung. The latter idea is good ; 

 but the former is groundless, because no roots are 

 more hardy than those of asparagus. Still a winter 

 covering is useful, not so much for the defence of the 

 roots, but for another reason not always appreciated. 

 In early spring the temperature of the earth at twelve 

 inches from the surface is always higher by ten or 

 fifteen degrees than the air; consequently, roots 



lying at that depth are sooner excited into action than 

 such as are just beneath the surface; it follows of 

 course that the shoots are ready to rise as soon as 

 the season permits the removal of the covering, viz., 

 about the 20th of March. In this'view, and for the 

 purpose of bringing forth the shoots, a covering is 

 necessary, and the thicker it is, the more care is 

 necessary in forking the beds when they are levelled 

 down at the spring dressing, lest any of the points of 

 the shoots are broken by the fork. 



The author of this article has long disapproved of 

 this method of spring dressing asparagus beds. Many 

 of the crowns and roots are injured by the tool even in 

 the most careful hands, if put deep enough ; and if it 

 be not allowed to go deep enough to break the old sur- 

 face, it answers very little purpose doing such work at 

 all. A safer method of winter management is this : As 

 soon as the stems are dead in the autumn, let them be 

 cut down close to the surface and cleared away. Then 

 let the beds be forked over as deeply as may be with- 

 out, disturbing the roots. At this time there is less 

 danger of damaging the crowns because their places 

 can be seen by the remains of the old stems. The 

 surface being thus sufficiently broken, the beds should 

 be covered with at least four inches of old hot-bed 

 or other exhausted dung. Over this may be laid a 

 couple of inches of mould raised from the alleys, and 

 so to remain during winter. This mould is only to be 

 raked off at the spring dressing, leaving what remains 

 of the dung to form the surface, through which the 

 shoots will easily rise, and which is turned in and 

 mixed with the common soil by the fork at the autumn 

 dressing. Supposing the crowns to be at their natural 

 depth from the surface, viz., two inches, and the 

 covering of decayed dung to be two inches more, 

 these together will be a depth sufficient over the 

 crowns to allow length enough of shoot to be cut for 

 use. The advantage of this annual addition of soft 

 mild dung, is its being gradually reduced to a fine 

 fertile mould, particularly well calculated to allow the 

 shoots to penetrate and to yield suitable nourishment 

 to the roots below. 



As asparagus plants are much weakened by cuttirg 

 the shoots before they are well established in the 

 ground, it has become a rule to reserve a new plant- 

 ation till the third year after it is laid down before 

 any shoots are cut, and even then it is done but 

 sparingly. One shoot from each plant is considered 

 quite enough to be taken in the third year ; on the 

 fourth a fine and plentiful return may be expected ; 

 and in every following year, if the cutting be done 

 regularly and moderately, a plantation will continue 

 productive for many years, provided care be taken to 

 fill up any blanks that may occur in the beds hy the 

 introduction of fresh plants. The long period that 

 this crop keeps, or may keep possession of the ground, 

 is the reason why so much manure is buried beneath 

 the plants in the'first place. Manuring afterward can 

 only be applied in the shape of top dressings; and 

 though this may be administered effectually in the 

 case of many surface rooting plants, it is well to have 

 a rich sub-soil for plants intended to remain many 

 years on the same spot. 



It has been before observed, that the natural depth 

 for the crowns of the asparagus plant is two inches ; 

 and if two inches more be given of artificial covering, 

 shoots allowed to rise four inches above the surface 

 will be the required length for the table. It is the ex- 

 part of the shoot which is eatable ; as the white 



