386 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



circumstances, to continue regular business relations with him, 

 and not to change the salesman without sufficient cause. If 

 these methods are followed, and are supported by good quality 

 in the articles offered, success in marketing should be certain 

 in spite of any competition, foreign or otherwise. 



No more need be said except that the grower can generally 

 obtain free from the salesman such empties baskets, bags, 

 boxes, or other receptacles as may be necessary for the 

 proper packing of his produce, as well as printed labels with 

 which to address it. In some cases it will perhaps be found 

 more advantageous for the grower to possess his own empties 

 for certain lines, and the use of "non-returnables" may be found 

 preferable for some of the more valuable products, but ex- 

 perience will prove the best guide in these matters. 



ARTICHOKES (GLOBE). The heads of Globe Artichokes are cut as soon 

 as they are fully grown but before the scales begin to open ; they are then 

 tender and of good flavour. Each head is cut with an inch or so of stem. 

 They are packed in baskets in regular layers, a little soft material being 

 put between each layer and over the top. They should be marketed in as 

 fresh a condition as possible, and the number of heads in the basket should 

 be marked clearly on the label. 



ARTICHOKE (JERUSALEM). Lifting may begin in October and continue 

 throughout the winter. Lifting should be finished by February, or fresh 

 growth will take place. The tubers are sorted over, the smallest being 

 rejected. They are packed in half -bushel baskets, with a little hay over the 

 top, the whole being fastened down by two sticks crossed over the top, the 

 ends of each being inserted between the canes at the top of the basket. 



ASPARAGUS. Cutting of Asparagus begins when the tips of the shoots 

 have grown Sin. or 4in. above the soil. It is usually cut about 4in. below 

 the surface of the soil, so that the total length of each shoot is Sin. to 9in. 

 The portion above the soil is green and tender, whilst that below is white, 

 tough, and uneatable ; for this reason some growers allow the green portion 

 to grow longer and then, instead of cutting, break off the shoots just below 

 the surface, so getting a rather shorter shoot but one that is of much better 

 quality by being almost entirely eatable. All the shoots long enough are 

 cut, whether thick or thin, and are then sorted into two or three grades, 

 "special," "ordinary," and "sprue," the thickness, length, and general 

 appearance of the sticks being the guide. They are then tied up into bundles 

 or bunches. The size of the bundle varies with the season, the market to 

 which it is sent, and the custom of the district in which it is grown. For 

 instance, in the London district a market bundle of " grass " is usually 100 

 sticks, whilst those sent from the Evesham district contain 120, each bundle 

 being composed of six small bundles of 20 sticks each. Each bundle has 



