To what extremes we go, alas! 



When we eat the head of succulent grass, 



And hold in our fingers the slippery mass. 



ASPARAGUS 



Native of Persia. 



Asparagus can be raised from seed or 

 planted from year old roots, thus saving a 

 year in waiting for the roots to mature. It 

 bears lightly the second year and a good crop 

 the third and fourth years. After that, with 

 care, a bed should last twenty to thirty years. 



Prepare the bed by mixing manure with the 

 soil and adding sand if the soil is heavy. Spade 

 in the manure and level the surface of the bed 

 with a rake. 



Plant the seed in rows about an inch deep, 

 one foot apart. Press the soil down over the 

 seed with the back of the rake. Thin out the 

 young shoots to one every six inches, weed 

 the bed and keep the soil mulched. Sow the 

 seed in March or April. 



When the roots are one year old transplant 

 them to the bed prepared to receive them. In 

 preparing the bed for one-year-old roots you 

 must first have a bed that has a natural drain- 

 age or you must arrange for artificial drainage. 

 Suppose your bed has clay subsoil; dig out 



[18] 



