necessary equipment, such as draft animals, tools, gathering and ship- 

 ping boxes, etc. Thus, for a division of 50 and 50, the owner would fur- 

 nish everything but the necessary labor and its keep, while on a 67 and 33 

 percentage basis the tenant would furnish everything. Most of these 

 short-term lessees are Orientals, the proportion running Japanese, 50 

 per cent ; Chinese, 30 per cent, with Portuguese making up practically 

 all of the remaining 20 per cent. 



The actual field labor is also largely Oriental, ranging, Japanese, 50 

 per cent; Chinese, 30 per cent, and Hindoos, 10 per cent, with a sprin- 

 kling of Filipinos, Kanakas, Mexicans and Portuguese. There is, how- 

 ever, a growing disinclination to the emploj^ment of Japanese, either as 

 lessees or laborers; they are seldom employed in the latter capacity, 

 except by their own countrymen, if other laborers can be obtained. 



Culture. As a rule asparagus is raised from plants one and two 

 years old, grown in nurseries, though there have been cases of successful 

 fields where the plants were grown from seed direct. It requires about 

 4,000 plants to the acre. These cost from $3.50 to $4 per thousand. 

 They are put in rows 7 feet apart and 14 to 18 inches apart in the row. 



The soil needs to be thoroughly prepared deeply plowed and well 

 harrowed. Freedom from weeds is essential. Irrigation is not required, 

 as the crop is harvested before the moisture is out of the ground, it being 

 conserved by frtfuient cultivation. When the asparagus season ap- 

 proaches, the flops are plowed into ridges, burying the plants to a depth 

 of from 12 to 20 inches. The hollows between the ridges are kept mellow 

 by being frequently disced. The harvest, or cutting season, commences 

 about the first of March and lasts until about the first of July. Weather 

 conditions have a great influence, not only on the time when the season 

 opens, but also on the character and quantity of the yield, more espe- 

 cially during the earlier part of the season. The fields are gone over 

 daily. The sprouts, 6 to 9 inches long, are cut as soon as the tip appears 

 above ground. A shovel-shaped tool about 2 inches wide at the cutting 

 end and about 2 feet long, with a wooden handle, is used in cutting, 

 which is done 5 to 8 inches below the surface. 



If the sprouts are allowed to remain uncut and exposed to the sun and 

 wind, they deteriorate very rapidly and lose not only the blanched or 

 white appearance, but also lack weight and flavor and become tough or 

 woody. Twenty-four hours exposure gives a decided green tinge to the 

 shoots, which in that length of time w r ill be 4 to 6 inches above ground. 

 This loss in color is a detriment in marketing, the demand being for a 

 r ^re white stalk. There is, however, a tendency toward a stalk with a 

 slight tinge of green, and in fact some connoisseurs claim that the 

 exposure to the air which gives the green tinge imparts a finer flavor and 

 makes it preferable to the pure white. 



As soon as cut the sprouts are gathered and hauled off the field, care 

 being taken to avoid, so far as practicable, exposure to the sun and wind. 

 They are taken to the washing shed and washed to remove all soil; 

 then they are arranged with heads together, trimmed to a uniform 

 length of 7 inches, neatly arranged in two layers in "lug" boxes and 

 are ready for shipment to the market. 



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