54 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



mine, which has been set twelve years, succeeds, together 

 with the fact that the soil is in good condition and we have 

 less weeds to fight, etc., is certainly a recommendation to 

 me of commercial fertilizers for asparagus as well as for a 

 good many other things, for the very same reasons. 



The Chairman. I would like to inquire of Mr. Haslam 

 if he has had any experience in the use of nitrate of soda ? 



Mr. Haslam. I have been raising asparagus for thirty 

 years, and have now nine acres. I have raised it with all 

 kinds of fertilizers, — commercial fertilizers, barnyard man- 

 ure, etc. What I am using at the present time is one-half 

 mixed commercial fertilizers and the other half bone, nitrate 

 of soda and potash or ashes. My reason for using those 

 materials is this. The result for the next year with aspar- 

 agus depends on the growth you get after you get through 

 cutting this year. For the first month no fertilizer has any- 

 thino; to do with it. You can take half an acre with no fer- 

 tilizer upon it, and another half acre with fertilizers upon 

 it, and the result will be just the same up to about the first 

 of June ; after that your fertilizer becomes solul^le, and your 

 crop begins feeding upon it. I put on some of the fertilizers 

 in a soluble form, so that the crop can take them up. I put 

 on the other, so that after I get through cutting it will be 

 soluble and furnish food for the asparagus. That is the idea 

 I have, and I think I obtain the best results in that way. I 

 tried a few rows with clear nitrate of soda, and I saw no dif- 

 ferent results from it than where I applied nothing but 

 ground bone. But I think, as has been said here, that a 

 combination is needed. You analyze asparagus, and you 

 will ascertain just what it needs ; and you want to give it a 

 little more than what the analysis requires. A friend of 

 mine who has an asparagus bed sent to Amherst to learn 

 what was needed for a crop of asparagus. The formula fur- 

 nished was two hundred pounds of bone-black, five hundred 

 pounds of ground bone, and I think about a hundred pounds 

 of muriate of potash. The gentleman tried it, and he tried 

 just twice that amount on a part of the bed, and he found 

 that he got a good deal better asparagus with the larger 

 amount. I use a ton and a half to the acre, and I think I 

 get well paid for it. 



