CUTTING AND PACKING ASPARAGUS 131 



tween cuttings varies in different soils, some being wanner and consequently 

 quicker than others; then again, much depends on the weather; some years 

 we will have warm days in February, which will necessitate cutting twice each 

 week, and it may be followed by cold days in March, when the cuttings will 

 be meager once a week; and again in the warm days of May it may require 

 three cuttings per week to prevent the tips from bursting, which spoils it for 

 market. 



Some cut with a long-handled gouge which does less injury to 

 roots by side-cutting, others use a long butcher knife. One form 

 of cutter is a tube about fifteen inches long, with a handle fitted 

 in one end and the other end opened and flattened into cutting 

 edge, which is broad, sharp and forked. 



There is variation in the demand for color in the product. The 

 local demand runs largely for a green tinge ; the canning demand is 

 for white, and the eastern shipping demand is largely for green. 

 To produce good, tender, white asparagus it is necessary to cover 

 more deeply and blanch the shoots by continued growth through a 

 thicker layer of loose earth. It is also necessary to cut as soon as 

 the tip is seen, which requires daily cutting in the height of the 

 season. The knife is plunged into the loose ridge through which 

 the shoot is rising so as to sever it about six or eight inches below 

 the surface where the tip appears. 



Comparatively little asparagus is bunched in California, except 

 for fresh shipment to eastern markets; the bulk of it being mar- 

 keted in large boxes as loose stalks which are both wholesaled and 

 retailed by the pound. For distance shipments the boxes are marked 

 so that the stems stand on their ends just as they grow, for they 

 are apt to bend out of shape if lying on the sides. When the as- 

 paragus is brought into the packing house for shipping fresh it is 

 first separated into different grades. A tray of a size is then carried 

 by a worker to a bench where the asparagus is laid stalk by stalk 

 in a circular press and tied into a bunch with cotton tape or raffia. 

 All the bunches are of one size and there is but one grade in each 

 bunch. After being passed to an inspector, who returns any that 

 is not up to the standard, the bunches have their ends cut off and 

 are then wrapped in oiled paper and packed in crates. A couple 

 of inches of wet moss is placed in the bottom of each crate to keep 

 the asparagus fresh, and an inch or two of space is left at the top, 

 as the stalks continue to grow during their journey and that amount 

 of head-room is desirable. 



For near marketing in the height of the season the asparagus 

 is usually delivered in open boxes holding forty to fifty pounds. 

 Where bunching is desirable in garden practice, it can be neatly 

 done by putting the stalks point downwards in a teacup, tying the 

 bunch, and then squaring off the butts with a sharp knife. 



The asparagus season in California extends from January until 

 June; although later cutting is sometimes practiced, it is not, as 

 stated, for the good of the plants. 



