i;)()7.] 



PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 33. 



193 



composed sod. Cuciiiiibers arc not so susceptible to soil 

 texture as lettuce, since almost any soil fairly well provided 

 with organic matter is suitable for their growth; while in 

 the cultivation of head lettuce it is necessary to have, in 

 addition to a good sui)ply of organic matter, a certain per- 

 centage of the coarser particles of soil. 



The best method of preparing soil for cucumbers consists 

 in mixing one-third horse manure, one-third loam and one- 

 third sod. These constituents form a suitable basis for a good 

 cucumber soil, and by the extensive use of horse manure each 

 year it can be kept in good condition. 



Asparagus is usually grown on a coarse, sandy soil, gen- 

 erally deficient in organic matter, partly for the reason that 

 such soils will not grow anything else satisfactorily. It by 

 no means follows, however, that asparagus requires this type 

 of soil, since, as a matter of fact, the best beds in the State are 

 located on soil of finer texture than most of those shown in 

 Table III. 



Such soils as !Nos. 33 and 73 possess finer textures than 

 others, and they are excellent asparagus soils, besides having 

 the advantage of growing crops which are not subject to the 

 summer stage of the rust; whereas plants grown in coarse 

 soils are often severely attacked by the rust, regardless of 

 their location. The most important feature connected with 

 as^Darag-us soil in respect to texture is its ability to supply 

 water during periods of excessive drought, which enables the 

 plants to resist outbreaks of rust. In some cases asparagus 

 beds will yield $1,000 j:)er acre. 



