CULTIVATION 63 



rows of the standing ones, a very rapid succession 

 is arrived at. 



Asparagus is the essentially Evesham crop, and 

 its cultivation originally started the breaking up of 

 farm land in small lots. At the village of Badsey, 

 some miles east of Evesham, the land seems almost 

 entirely devoted to this purpose. It is very essential 

 that the land should be thoroughly clean before 

 planting the beds, and the method usually pursued 

 is to grow a cleaning crop the first year, generally 

 peas or beans to be followed by winter cabbage, 

 sprouts or cauliflower. For this the land is occa- 

 sionally ploughed in the first instance, and then 

 dug with the two-pronged forks in big clods, which 

 are turned over for the frost to act on. More often 

 the whole of the cultivation is done by hand. In 

 the spring the land is then forked by hand prepara- 

 tory to the cleaning crop. In many cases, if the 

 land is clean, the asparagus is planted out the first 

 spring ; rows of lettuces, peas, beans, etc., will be 

 grown the first year between it before the beds are 

 earthed up, and occasionally dwarf peas and beans 

 will be grown on the edges of beds in full cut. 

 The asparagus is not ready to cut till the third 

 year. Whatever the state of the beds, no cutting 

 is ever done after June 26. Cutting, however, 

 must be continued until June 22 at least, other- 

 wise injury is caused by leaving on too much 

 'prue,' weak bower growing up. The beds are 

 apt to get foul and choked, but if kept properly 

 clean will last eleven or twelve years on the 

 stronger land 



