46 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



white ones are by far the best, being of excellent quality and 

 mild flavor. As we want only a few of these early onions before 

 those grown from seed are ready, suppose we set out half a row 

 of sets, and, as these small onions can be set near together, let us 

 make the row a foot wide and set the bulbs four inches apart, 

 thereby having a row of three sets wide. For this purpose two 

 quarts of sets are needed. 



Asparagus. Asparagus is a hardy perennial plant. It may 

 be grown from seed or propagated bj' roots. If grown from seed 

 it will take four years before a good crop can be gathered, after 

 which time a full suppl}' ma}' be expected every season. But the 

 most satisfactory way to establish an asparagus bed is b}' plant- 

 ing two-year-old roots. These may be purchased at very reason- 

 able rates. These roots should be planted in rows from three 

 to four feet apart, the roots being set one foot apart in the rows, 

 and for depth set the roots so that the crowns shall be from four 

 to six inches below the surface of the ground. 



These roots should be set out in the spring. They can be set 

 in the fall, but the spring is the preferable time. It will take 

 two years to obtain a good asparagus bed, if two-year-old roots 

 are used, for the first season after the roots are set out it is not 

 desirable to cut any asparagus from the bed, as the plants need 

 to be given time to become thoroughly established ; but in four 

 years from the seed, or in two years from the setting of two-year- 

 old roots, a good asparagus bed can be established. As regards 

 the varieties of asparagus, Conover's Colossal and Moore's Hybrid 

 are both good, but the secret of growing " giant" asparagus lies 

 in the manure heap. As we all like asparagus, let us have three 

 rows of it in our garden, which will take about 400 plants. 



The Cucumber. Cucumbers in the open ground should be 

 planted about June 1, in hills six feet apart and thinned to four 

 plants in a hill. Cucumbers are easy to grow if they are given 

 plenty of water. A sprinkling of drj' plaster will keep off the 

 striped bug. 



The Improved White Spine and Long Green Prickly are the best 

 for the table, while the Boston Pickling is the leading kind for 

 pickles. A dozen hills will supply the needful amount of the 

 table sorts, but as regards the pickles each family must plant 

 according to its needs. 



