]^ULLETIX ]^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 this laboratory for several years. The 

 studies were begun in connection vnth a series of fertilizer experiments 

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

 is an important industry. 



The chemical composition of the asparagus plant has heretofore re- 

 ceived comparatively httle 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 ToUens"* 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 

 cro'mis and roots taken from the experiment field at Concord early in 

 November, 1908. One-year-old plants had been set in tliis 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. Lindsey for important 

 suggestions regarding the work is gratefully acknowledged. 



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

 » Tanret: Bull. Soc. Chim. (4) 5, p. 889 (1909). 



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

 ' N. y. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. 265; Office Expt. Sta. Bull. 28, p. 37. 



