150 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



At the end of the following February all loose litter should be 

 raked off, all weeds cleared, and the beds covered Sin. deep 

 with soil taken from the alleys; if the ground is heavy this 

 soiling is best done in November, so that it will become friable 

 by the influence of the weather through the winter. When 

 cutting is finished the soil which was put on the beds is thrown 

 back again into the alleys, and a dressing of suitable fertilizer 

 given to encourage strong growth. The tops are then allowed 

 to grow as they will, but weeds are kept down. 



Cutting and Bunching. If the plants have made strong 

 vigorous growth, cutting may begin in the third year, but for 

 the first cutting not more than two or three shoots should be 

 taken from a plant, and none after the beginning of June. In 

 the following years cutting should finish by the second or third 

 week in June at the latest; if the cutting is prolonged to a 

 later period than this the crop of the following season is sure 

 to feel the effect of it, and fewer sticks of poorer quality will be 

 obtained than would otherwise be the case. When the crop is 

 being harvested every shoot should be removed, no matter how 

 small it may be. If these small shoots are left to grow they 

 reduce the quality of the larger sticks by taking strength from 

 the roots. 



Cutting begins when the strong brownish-green tips of the 

 shoots are observed to have pushed three or four inches above 

 the soil. The Asparagus knife is pushed into the soil obliquely 

 and the shoot cut about 4in. below the surface. This must be 

 done with great care, so as not to injure the new shoots rising 

 from the crown. The knife depicted is a pattern in common 



Asparagus Knife. 



use, but any long strong knife, such as a butcher's knife, will 

 serve the purpose equally well. On light mellow soils it is the 

 custom with some of the best growers to break off the shoots 

 close to the crown instead of cutting. There is then no danger 

 of injuring the crown. A little of the soil is pulled away so 

 that the finger and thumb can be easily pushed to the required 

 depth, then the shoot is snapped off, and the soil replaced. 



