ASPARAGUS. 11 



From about the middle of October to the latter 

 end of November, is the time to give the asparagus 

 beds their winter dressing. This consists in cutting 

 down the decayed stalks of the plants, close to, or 

 within, an inch of the ground, and clearing the beds 

 from weeds, drawing them off at the same time with 

 a rake into the alleys to be buried, and spreading 

 some of the earth upon the beds, which is called 

 landing up. Then proceed to line out the alleys, 

 the stakes that are placed at the corners of the beds 

 forming a guide : the alleys must be dug one spade 

 deep, and a good portion of earth spread over each 

 bed, two or three inches thick, and then nicely 

 levelled with the rake. It may be supposed by 

 some, that in annual landing up the beds, they may 

 in several years be considerably raised ; but by the 

 spring forking and raking, together with the re- 

 peated hoeings and clearing off weeds in the sum- 

 mer, and at the time of preparing for landing up in 

 the autumn, a considerable portion of the earth is 

 annually drawn off again into the alleys. 



About the end of March, or towards the middle 

 of April, before the buds begin to advance below, 

 proceed to loosen the surface of the beds ; intro- 

 ducing the fork slanting two or three inches under 

 the surface, turn up the top earth near the crown 

 of the roots, with care not to wound them. Then 

 rake the surface of the beds level, and draw off the 

 rough earth and hard clods into the alleys ; also 

 trim the edges of the beds, and surface of the 

 alleys regularly and even. Loosening the bed in 

 this manner enables the shoots to rise in free growth, 

 admits the air, rains, and sunshine, into the ground, 



