THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 253 



tables of people of moderate or even small incomes. It is also fre- 

 quently recommended as an article of diet for the sick and con- 

 valescent. To the asparagus grower there are two methods by which 

 plants can be secured, (1) by purchasing or saving the seed from 

 which to raise them, and (2) by purchasing the plants from either a 

 seedsman or some grower. Taking the second method, as being the 

 Quickest way to start a bed as well as the most easily disposed of, it 

 is suggested that roots over two years old be rejected, and only one- 

 year-old roots selected if a sufficient number can be secured, as the 

 latter are much better and will in the course of a few years produce 

 more and larger spears to the plant and yield profitable crops for a 

 longer period. It is best to deal with reliable firms; they will be 

 more likely to supply plants of both the kind and age desired. 



Seed. Only reliable seedsmen should be trusted, or the seed 

 should be procured from some neighbor who has the desired variety 

 and has taken proper care in producing and saving the seed, if the 

 first plan is to be followed. If one already has an asparagus bed 

 of the desired sort, producing fine spears, and of the proper age (8 to 

 12 years old) for seed production, it is always best to save seed from 

 it for new plantings. The growing of one's own plants is preferable, 

 both because of the extra year intervening between the determina- 

 tion to plant and the actual setting out of the bed, thereby permit- 

 ting the soil of the proposed bed to be put in a better and more friable 

 condition, and because, good seed having been secured and proper 

 care given to the young plants, a more satisfactory supply of the 

 young roots is obtained. That there are objections to growing one's 

 own seed is undoubtedly true, but there are also compensating advan- 

 tages, and if proper care is exercised it will pay the grower to raise his 

 own seed (from beds which are satisfactory) even if seed can be 

 bought in the open market for much less than the trouble of attend- 

 ing to the home grown may cost. If, however, a grower is unwilling 

 or unable to exercise the necessary care in the production of seed, he 

 would do much better not to attempt it, but depend upon some 

 reliable dealer, studiously avoiding those whose claims to patronage 

 are based upon cheapness of stock. Good seed are worth good 

 money ; poor seed should not be accepted under any conditions. 



Soil. Asparagus will grow on most soils, and will yield large 

 crops upon stiff soils ; but for the purpose of the grower for market, 

 a light sandy soil of fair fertility is much to be preferred, both be- 

 cause of the earliness with which it produces marketable spears and 

 the ease with which it is cultivated. A soil on which water stands 

 after rain, or under which the standing subsurface water is near the 

 surface, into which the roots are liable to penetrate, is to be avoided. 

 Of course, such a soil, if otherwise suitable, can be made fit by a 

 thorough system of underdrainage, since an occasional overflow, or 

 even a submergence of the beds for several days, is not necessarily 

 injurious if the drainage, either natural or artificial, is good. The 

 soil should be free of roots, stones, or any trash that will not readily 

 disintegrate or that will interfere with the growth of the spears. A 

 rather stiff but naturally well-drained soil which produces early and 



