80 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



Mr. Garrahan. Yes, 14 acres. I tried one year grading 

 that asparagus, putting a tape on it. We took out all the 

 smaller stuff and tied the rest up with a nice ribbon, and we got 

 a little better price for it. Then the other fellows all started 

 doing the same thing and prices got back to the old level. So 

 we all got together and said, "What's the use of buying this 

 blue ribbon for them? — We'll use jute, that's a good deal 

 cheaper." 



A Member. Do you find jute cheap now? 



Mr. Garrahan. I doubt if it is now. I happen to have a 

 ton on hand, but I guess it is S18 or $20 now. 



A Member. What do you consider a good income from an 

 a,cre of asparagus? 



Mr. Garrahan. Well, I haven't those figures here. I would 

 hate to say. 



A Member. What is the size of your bunch? 



Mr. Garrahan. The size of the bunch varies a good deal 

 according to the demand. It sometimes weighs a pound and a 

 half, and sometimes it's pretty small. Sometimes it's easier to 

 cut the loaf than it is to raise the price, and if we find a pretty 

 big demand for asparagus, and the weather a little cold, we cut 

 the bunch in proportion. 



A Member. About 15 ounces? 



Mr. Garrahan. Something like that. 



A Member. All green? 



Mr. Garrahan. Yes, all green. 



A Member. How about the maggot — are you troubled 

 with that? 



Mr. Garrahan. No, we are not troubled with the maggot 

 for some reason or other. 



A Member. Do you irrigate? 



Mr. Garrahan. Our conditions are a little peculiar. You 

 see our land is low and it is liable to overflow. It's impossible 

 for us to have the irrigation pipes up on posts, as is customary, 

 so we put them on tripods, where we've got enough pipe to 

 spray at one time, probably 4 acres or a little over, and by 

 moving these tripods and moving the pipes we connect the 

 pipes in about 100-feet lengths. 



