10 THE VEGETABLE CULTIVATOR. 



tity to furnish a single good dish. For a large 

 family, about twelve or sixteen rods are generally 

 kept in a productive state. 



Nothing further will be required, during the 

 summer, than to keep the beds perfectly clear from 

 weeds ; and the following winter to cover them with 

 some rotten manure, to preserve the crowns from 

 the frost; if, in the spring, the earth is found to 

 have settled in any part, which in new-made beds is 

 often the case, the deficiency must be made up 

 with more mould. 



The crop is permitted, the two first years and a 

 great portion of the third, to run up to stalks, the 

 beds being kept free from weeds, and the surface 

 stirred. It is a common practice to sow onions, 

 lettuces, or radishes upon the beds; but the author 

 considers this practice injurious to the asparagus, 

 especially after the first three years, as it must 

 necessarily rob the ground of a large portion of its 

 nourishment. 



If very large heads of asparagus are required, 

 they may be produced by planting them twelve or 

 fourten inches apart in the rows, and fifteen or 

 eighteen inches between the rows. The ground 

 must ttlso be very rich and highly manured. The 

 author considers this to be the method by which 

 the Giant asparagus is produced, as in the course of 

 his practice, by pursuing the same plan, he has 

 met with the same results. 



After the beds are arrived at maturity, which is 

 generally the third year after they are planted, they 

 will require the following systematic mode of treat- 

 ment : 



