108 



ASPARAGUS 



sendins up new shoots. If the bed is well made in the 

 beginning, the Asparagus need not he disturbed foreight 

 or ten years. However, at the end of that time it is well 

 to take the plants up and till the beds with fresh soil 

 and manure. 



In the spring, when the sun gets high, the Asparagus 

 houses are shaded with a light coating of white lead, 

 whiting and kerosene oil. This is absolutely necessary, 

 as the summer sun would in a very short time burn the 

 tops of the vine. The vine tlowirs in the full, and only 

 on strings that have been niaiit; . .1 i . ni h^ or more. 



The vine alone is not till- "I , . . i.i-lit. When 



the plant is a year old, a f'w ■■: < i n :iriy perfect 



spraysmay betaken without Iti mm- r- ^iiuth. These 

 are very desirable in the markt-t. I'lHTt- is, of course, 

 some waste in working up the Asparagus to be shifted, 

 but, on the whole, it is very slight. The different forms 

 in which it is sold utilize by far the greater part of it. 



Insects destroy the shoots and sprays. This is pre- 

 vented to a great extent by insect powder. The cut- 

 worms do the most damage. About the only way to get 

 rid of them is to pick them off the strings during the 

 night, as they generally sick shcUcr nuiU-r the thick 

 clusters of the plum :ii 'l:i' :. jM. Tii' !■.■ n i^' 111:1 1 , ili .iw- 

 baeksingrowing.A | m : I . , IVM 



necessary to wait :i I I- .1 1 im \.:ii< i.M"r.- r. .ii'iiig 

 any return from the ex|M-ncliturci , ni.inry Iniiu itim-i-Is, 

 and the great : 

 the houses. 



ASPASIA (Greek personal name, of lift!.- si. 

 In in. Onhiddceie, tribe fdndeie. I's. iii.-iii! 

 sill, .-nriaceous : racemes radical: p. 1 r 1 • :< 

 laTcrnl st-pals free, the upper one cniiii:- ;i' 

 till- |i.tals : labellum concave: (■.■Iiinii! -1 1 

 l.i.lliiiia 2. Eight or 10 Trop.Amer. species. 1 

 is closely allied to Odontoglossum. 



epidendroides, Lindl. Lvs. linear-lanceolate : 

 with about i fls. ; erect : sepals and petals streaked with 

 brown; labellum white, dotted with violet-purple. Pan- 

 ama and Colombia. Oakes Ames. 



ASPEN. See Populus. 



ASPERfiLLA (ilirainutiveofasper, rough). Syn., J-S- 

 prrlhi. <h-iiin'uiiip. Perennial grasses, with looser and 

 niurc sknilir tirniinal spikes than Elymus. Spikelets 

 usually in pairs, on short pedicels, empty glumes wanting 

 or appearing as simple rudiments in the lowest spikelets 

 of each spike. Species 4. N.Amer., Siberia, New Zeal. 



H^strix, Humb. Bottle -brush Grass. Spikelets 

 stand out at right angles, suggesting brushes used for 

 cleaning bottles. A native grass, growing in woodlands 

 and on the borders of thickets ; sometimes used for 

 lawn decoration. p. b. Kennedy. 



ASPfiRULA 1 



species is A. odorata, the Waldmeister of the Germans, 

 which is used in their Maitrank, or May wine, and in 

 summer drinks. The dried lvs. have a hav-like fra- 

 grance, lastinir f..r viirs. nnil are often kept with 



ASPHODELINE 



margm corollas campanul ite seeds rough En. and 

 Orient —Increases rapidh and is used for carpeting 

 shady places and for ed^mcS 



hexaph^Ua All Plant stem glabrous habit ascend- 

 ing, slender height 1-2 ft lvs in ^^horls of 6, linear, 

 acute rough corollas tul ular funnel shaped : panicles 





sophila pa,iicii!,it,i, Ulullcr httifoll,,. and several Gali- 

 nms, all of which have small, abundant fls. in very loose 

 panicles on long, slender stems. In half-shaded and 

 moist soil, Asperulas grow very luxuriantly until late 

 fall. In dry and sunny places they soon become stunted , 

 and die down before the season is over. Prop, by divi- 

 sion and by seeds. 



A. Plants perennial : fls. white. 



B. Corollas 4-lobed. 



odorita, Linn. Sweet Woodruff. Fig. 157. Habit 



erect or ascending : height 6-8 in. : lvs. usually in 



whorls of 8, lanceolate, finely toothed or roughish at the 



\^ 



157. Asperula odorata. 



very loose : fls. larger than the bracts : seeds smooth. 

 Italy, Hungary, Pyrenees on high passes and dry mt. 

 sides. — Well grown specimens may be 3 ft. in diam. and 

 nearly as high. 



BB. Corollas often S-lobed. 



tlnctdria, Linn. Dver's WooDRtTF. Habit procum- 

 bent unless supported: height 1-2 ft.: lvs. linear; 

 lower ones in G's, middle ones in 4's, uppermost ones in 

 2's : bracts ovate : fls. reddish on outside : roots large, 

 creeping widely, reddish. Dry hills and rocks of Eu. 

 AA. Plants annual: fls. blue. 



orientUis, Boiss. & Hoheu. {A. aziirea and A. setbsa, 

 ,Iaub. & Spach. A. azurea-setosa and J. setosa-azurea, 

 Hort.). Height 1 ft.: lvs. in whorls of 8, lanceolate, 

 bristly : lis. longer than the bracts. Eu. and Orient. 

 N- 1 • '-*■ J. B. Keller and W. M. 



ASPHODEL. 



■ Asphodeline and Asphodelits. 



ASFHODELlNE (name modified from Asphodelits). 

 Lilit)eem. Hardy herbaceous plants, distinguished from 

 Asphodelus by their erect and leafy sts. They have 

 long racemes of yellow or white fls. in June and July. 

 All the older species were described under Asphodelus. 

 In 1830, Reiohenbach made the new genus Asphodeline 

 for A. lutea and others. The only species advertised in 

 America is A. luteus, but all those described below are 

 likely to be in cult. Monog. by J. G. Baker in Journ. 

 Linn. Soc. 15: 273-278 (1877J. w. M. 



The culture of Asphodeline Intea is simple. Any soil 



will suit. Partial shade is allowable, but fls. are often 



better in the sun. Prop, readily by division. 



A. Stems leafy np to the raceme. 



B. Fls. yellow. 



Wtea, Reichb. (Asphddeliis Ihteus, Linn.). True As- 

 phodel of the ancients, or King's Spear. Height 2-i 

 ft. : roots thick, fleshy, stoloniferous : lvs. 3-12 in. long: 

 margins rough : racemes 6-18 in. long, 3 in. wide : bracts 

 large, membraneous, persistent. Italy, Mauritania and 

 Algeria to Tauria and Arabia. B.M. 773. L.B.C. 12:1102 

 as A. Tawncus.— The best species. 

 BB. Fls. white. 



Tatlrica, Kunth. Height 1-2 ft. : roots slender: lvs. 

 3-i) in. long; margins membranaceous: raceme 6-12 in. 

 long, lX-2 in. wide: bracts 9-12 lines long. Caucasus, 

 Tauria, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece. G.C. III. 21: 175. 



AA. Stems leafy only a third or half the way to the 



B. Fls. white; raceme dense. 

 globiJera, J. Gay. Height 2-3 ft. : capsule globose 

 Cappadocia. 



