ASPARAGUS. 211 



sheep and lambs, from wliicli last circumstance it de- 

 rives one of its common names. 



Asparaginous Plants. 



Asparagus {Asparagus officinalis) is a perennial 

 plant, a native of the shx)res of Britain, w.here it occurs 

 sparingly, and of the steppes in the. east of EuropjO. 

 Though somewhat unpromising while in a state of na- 

 ture, it ^affords, in cultivation, an esculent of considerable 

 Value, and is therefore grown extensively both in pri- 

 vate and in sale gardens. The principal varieties are 

 the rcdtopijed and the green-topijcd, of which the latter, 

 while it is less succulent, is considered the better fla- 

 vored. There are numerous subvarieties, such as the 

 Battersea, Gravesend, Giant, &c., which differ only 

 slightly from those already meiltioned. 



Asparagus, growing naturally on loose sand, should 

 have a light, deep soil, through which it maybe able to 

 shoot its long stringy roots. Two feet and a half is 

 considered a desirable depth, but in France the ground 

 is sometimes prepared, by trenching- and sifting, to the 

 double of thut depth. A considerable 'portion of old 

 dung or of recent sea-weed is laid in the bottom of the 

 trench ; arid another top-dressing of well-rotted manure 

 should be digged in preparatory to pknting or sowing. 

 The older horticulturists used to grow their asparagus 

 in beds four or five feet wide, with intervening alleys 

 of about eighteen inches in breadth. At 'present, in 

 Scotland, it is customary to sow or plant in rows from 

 three to four feet asunder, a method which, in every 

 way, is found to be most convenient. Except where 

 the garden is new, when, of course, it is- advantageous 



