2O4 THE HOME ACRE. 



Now, whether you have raised the plants your- 

 self, or have bought them, you are ready to put 

 them where they will grow, and yield to the end 

 of your life probably. Again I substantiate my 

 position by quoting from the well-known gardener 

 and writer, Mr. Joseph Harris : " The old direc- 

 tions for planting an asparagus bed were well cal- 

 culated to deter any one from making the attempt. 

 I can recollect the first I made. The labor and 

 manure must have cost at the rate of a thousand 

 dollars an acre, and, after all was done, no better 

 results were obtained than we now secure at one 

 tenth of the expense." 



If the ground selected for the bed is a well- 

 drained sandy loam, is clean, free from sod, roots, 

 stones, etc., I would give it a top-dressing of six 

 inches of good barn-yard manure, which by trench- 

 ing or ploughing I would thoroughly mix with the 

 soil to the depth of at least two feet. If the ground 

 is not free from stones, roots, and sod, I should put 

 on the manure, as directed, in the autumn, and be- 

 gin on one side of the prospective bed and trench 

 it all over, mingling the fertilizer through the soil. 

 The trencher can throw out on the surface back of 

 him every stone, root, and weed, so that by the 

 time he is through there is a sufficient space of 

 ground amply prepared. 



On all soils except a wet, heavy clay I prefer 



