BULLETIi^ I^o. 171, 



DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY. 



A CHEMICAL STUDY OF THE ASPARAGUS 



PLANT. 



BY F. W. MORSE. ^ 



Introduction. 



The chemical composition of the asparagus plant (asparagus officinalis) 

 has been under investigation in tliis laboratory for several years. The 

 studies were begun in connection with a series of fertilizer experiments 

 which have been condiicted at Concord, Mass., where asparagus culture 

 is an important industry. 



The chemical composition of the asparagus plant has heretofore re- 

 ceived comparatively little attention. Rousseaux and Brioux,^ in a 

 study of commercial asparagus culture in France, include numerous 

 determinations of the inorganic constituents. Tanret^ has investigated 

 the soluble carbohydrates, or sugars. Wichers and Tollens* have re- 

 ported the composition of the roots and crowns at different seasons. 

 A few scattered analyses of the edible stalks have been found in different 

 publications.^ 



Our studies have included several stages in the development of the 

 asparagus plant, and also the effects produced by different methods of 

 fertilization. 



Crowns and Roots. 

 The first lot of material collected for the investigation consisted of 

 crowns and roots taken from the experiment field at Concord early in 

 November, 1908. One-year-old plants had been set in this field in the 

 spring of 1907; therefore the roots when sampled were two and one-half 

 years from the seed. 



1 The author's indebtedness to Director Wm. P. Brooks and Dr. J. B. Lindsay for important 

 suggestions regarding the work is gratefully acknowledged. 



2 Rousseaux and Brioux: Ann. Sciences Agron., 3d Series, I. (1906), pp. 188-326. 



3 Tanret: Bull. See. Chim. (4) 5, p. 889 (1909). 



* Wichers and ToUens: Journ. fur Landwirthsch., 1910, p. 113. 

 6 N. Y. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 265; Office Expt. Sta. Bull. 28, p. 37. 



