THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 2O/ 



if possible ; employ manures from the horse-stable, 

 or other light and exciting fertilizers, and there 

 will be no failure. 



In regard to the use of salt, Mr. Harris writes : 

 " It is a popular notion that common salt is ex- 

 ceedingly beneficial to asparagus. I do not know 

 that there is any positive proof of this, but, at any 

 rate, salt will do no harm, even if applied thick 

 enough to kill many of our common weeds. Salt 

 is usually sown broadcast, at the rate of ten bushels 

 to the acre." 



Until recently I have grown asparagus without 

 salt. Hereafter I shall employ it in sufficient de- 

 gree to kill all weeds except the strongest. I shall 

 sow it every spring after the bed is dug until the 

 ground is as white as if a flurry of snow had passed 

 over it. I think salt is a good manure for aspara- 

 gus, and many other things. At any rate, we 

 secure a great advantage in keeping our beds free 

 of weeds. 



I have written thus fully of asparagus because 

 when a man makes a bed as directed he makes it 

 for a lifetime. He can scarcely find another in- 

 vestment that will yield a larger return. We have 

 asparagus on our table every day, from the middle 

 of April to July I ; and the annual care of the crop 

 is far less than that of a cabbage-patch. I do not 

 advise severe cutting, however, after the middle of 



