206 THE HOME ACRE. 



a few of the strongest shoots may be cut for the 

 table. This should be done with a sharp knife a 

 little below the surface, so that the soil may heal 

 the wound, and carefully, lest other heads just 

 beneath the surface be clipped prematurely. 

 Cut from the bed very sparingly, however, the 

 third year, and let vigorous foliage form corres- 

 ponding root-power. In the autumn of the third 

 and the spring of the fourth year the treatment is 

 precisely the same. In the fourth season, how- 

 ever, the shoots may be used freely to, say, about 

 June 20, after which the plants should be permitted 

 to grow unchecked till fall, in order to maintain 

 and increase the root-power. Every year there- 

 after there should be an abundant top-dressing of 

 manure in the fall, and a careful digging of the 

 ground in the early spring. 



Light, sandy soil, clear of stones, is well adapted 

 to asparagus, but should be treated on the prin- 

 ciples already indicated in this work. There 

 should be no attempt, by trenching, to render a 

 porous subsoil more leaky. It is useless to give 

 the bed a thorough initial enriching. Put on a 

 generous top-dressing every autumn and leave the 

 rains to do their work, and good crops will result. 



If, on the contrary, a cold, heavy clay must be 

 dealt with, every effort should be made to amelio- 

 rate it. Work in a large quantity of sand at first, 



