ASPARAGUS. 193 



should be turned under as deeply as possible. Future 

 surface manurings will benefit the top soil. The field 

 being thoroughly harrowed, straight rows should be laid 

 off with a two-horse plow, going only in one direction, 

 care being taken to have the straight cuts, or land-sides 

 of the furrows, equi-distant from each other, and five feet 

 apart. If the roots of the plants are long, it will prob- 

 ably be necessary to deepen the furrows by following the 

 first with a smaller plow. In the bottom of the furrow 

 it is well to apply some lasting fertilizer, as coarse 



15. ASPARAGUS PLANT. 



ground bone, at the rate of half a ton to the acre. If 

 the land is high and warm, the crowns of the plants 

 might eventually be about six inches below the surface; 

 but in colder ground it would be unsafe to place them 

 deeper than four inches, or the sprouts might be late in 

 the spring, and a part of the plants might perish. The 

 roots are round and succulent, with numerous small 

 fibres, which unite to form the crown, from which the 



