53© The Fruit Garden. [Dec. 



Prepare a quantity of frcflihotflabledungfor thatpur- 

 pofe by throwing it up in a heap for ten or twelve 

 days before you make the bed ; in that time it will be 

 in right order. 



The bed fhould be three feet and a half high, and two 

 or three inches wider than the frame on every fide. When 

 the bed is made, level the top, and put on the earth ; 

 but you are not, as yet, to put on the frame. 



The earth muft be laid an equal depth all over the 

 top of the bed ; it muft be about fix inches thick on 

 every part, and the furface made perfedlly even, bank- 

 ing up fome moift foil round the outfide to keep up the 

 earth. When this is done, and having previoufly pro- 

 cured the proper afparagus plants of three years old, (See 

 fehruary) they are to be immediately planted clofe to 

 each other, upon the furface of the earth. The method 

 is this : 



Firft, at one end of the bed let a fmall ridge of earth 

 be raifed upon the furface, about four or five inches high; 

 this done get the roots, and begin to plac« them ; ob- 

 ferving to place the firfl courfe of plants clofe together, 

 againft the above little ridge of earth ; andrfo proceed, 

 laying or placing them one againft another, as clofe as 

 you pofnbly can put them, from one end to the other of 

 the bed ; do not, however, place the plants quite out to 

 the full extent of the bed, but leave about the breadth 

 of two or three inches all the way on each fide and 

 end of the top of the bed, in order that there may be 

 room to bank up fome more earth alfo againft the outfide 

 roots. 



Having placed the plants, let fome moift earth be 

 banked up againft the outfide roots on each fide of the 

 bed, asjuft above hinted. 



Then get fome good light earth, with which the 

 crowns of the roots are to be covered ; obferving to lay 

 the earth equally all over them about two inches thick, 

 which concludes the work for the prefent. The bed is to 

 remain in this manner until the afparagus begins to ap- 

 pear through the covering of earth : then lay on a- 

 nother parcel of earth the depth of three, or near four 

 inches ; fo that, in the whole, there may be the depth 

 of between five and fix inches of earth over the crowns 

 of the roots. 



When this is done, then prepare to put on the frames 

 ancfglafTes. But, 



