ASPARAGUS. 207 



in rows from three to four feet asunder, a method which, 

 in every way, is found to be most convenient. Except 

 where the garden is new, when, of course, it is advantage- 

 ous to procure a supply of ready-grown plants, it is thought 

 preferable to keep up the stock of asparagus by sowing. 



The sowing is made in March, in slight drills ; and, as 

 a portion of the seed often fails to germinate, it is a good 

 precaution to employ about double the quantity of seed 

 that may be ultimately necessary. If the plants come up 

 too thickly, they may be thinned out towards the end of the 

 first summer, to the distance of about six inches in the 

 rows. The ground is hoed and kept clear of weeds. It is 

 a common practice in England to take slight crops of 

 onions, lettuce, cauliflower, or turnip, between the lines of 

 asparagus during the first, and, if the rows be wide, also 

 in the second year. The young heads or stalks, the part 

 used, should not be cut before the third spring, and they 

 are not in perfection till the fourth or fifth. 



The asparagus quarter can scarcely be over-manured. 

 The proper time to perform this operation is in the end of 

 autumn, when the annual flower-stalks are removed, pre- 

 paratory for winter. When beds are employed, their sur- 

 face should be stirred with a fork ; a layer of well-rotted 

 hotbed dung is then laid on, and the whole covered with a 

 sprinkling of earth from the alleys. If the plants are 

 grown in rows, the manure is simply dug in by means of a 

 three-pronged fork, care being taken not to injure the roots. 

 This operation is repeated annually, and no other culture 

 is required. It is necessary to observe a due moderation 

 in reaping the crop, as the shoots, when much cut, become 

 progressively smaller and less valuable. Hence it is a 

 general rule with gardeners never to gather asparagus after 

 peas have begun to come into season. Thus managed, a 



