ASPARAGUS. 103 



case all but two inches of the asparagus is green, which is 

 right for most markets. Some people prefer to have sprouts 

 bleached, and in such cases they should be cut four or five 

 inches deep in the ground. In case white sprouts are wanted, 

 it is a good plan to hill up around the hills or to cover 

 them with fine manure to keep the sunlight away from the 

 shoots. The time between the cuttings is largely dependent 



Figure 45.— Method of bunching asparagus, showing ioose sprouts, boxes 

 for tying up in and completed bunches. 



on the weather. In early spring, if the weather is rather cold, 

 plants may not give more than one cutting per week, but later 

 in the season a good cutting will perhaps be secured once in 

 two days. A severe frost will kill all the shoots above ground 

 but will not injure subsequent cuttings. Asparagus is 

 marketed by tying the sprouts in bunches, the size of the 

 bunches depending much upon the market and, in some places, 

 on the season and whether the supply is plentiful or not. It 

 is very desirable, however, to have all the bunches of one size 

 when marketed. It is preferable to tie the sprouts when they 

 are just a little wilted and then set them in water to swell 

 and make the bands tight. The shoots will easily keep for 

 a week if kept cold and moist. It is customary to stand the 

 bunches on end in water in keeping them. 



Manuring. — If manure is applied to the asparagus bed in 

 autumn or before the frost is out of the ground in the spring, 

 it prevents the frost from coming out of the ground and so 

 keeps back the growth, unless the manure applied is very fine 

 and is at once cultivated into the soil. Sometimes such treat- 



