22O VEGETABLE GARDENING 



281. Harvesting. There is an increased tendency to 

 cut a small percentage of the shoots the second year. 

 The majority of growers regard it a mistake to cut before 

 the third year, and yet there are examples of growers 

 harvesting $50 worth of shoots an acre the second year 

 without any apparently injurious effect upon the cuttings 

 of subsequent years. The cutting season of the third 

 year should not continue longer than three or four weeks. 

 It is well understood, of course, that the renewal of the 

 shoots is an exhaustive process, and it is possible to re- 

 duce materially the vitality of the crowns by cutting too 

 severely. It is true, however, that the average length of 

 the cutting season is longer today than ever before. 

 Formerly, it was thought that the plants would not stand 

 a cutting period of more than six or seven weeks. Then 

 the period was lengthened to eight weeks, and now nine 

 is common. Successful growers sometimes cut for 10 or 

 ii weeks, but this is possible only when the season is 

 very early and beds or fields are in prime condition. 

 Whenever the shoots begin to show weakness it is cer- 

 tainly time to stop cutting. In the North, harvesting 

 generally begins during April and continues until June 

 15, or two to three weeks later. If the bed is to be 

 abandoned, cutting can be continued in the summer as 

 long as the crop pays. 



In foreign countries the shoots are nearly always 

 removed with the hand, breaking them neatly without 

 injury to other shoots and without leaving a stub to 

 decay. In this country, special tools have been 

 devised for the purpose. The point of the knife 

 is shoved down the shoot the required distance, the 

 handle moved from the stock to form the required 

 angle and the knife then thrust through the shoot. 

 As asparagus bunches vary from 7 to 10 inches in 

 length the cutting of the shoots must be regulated 

 accordingly. Then, too, the height of blanching and con- 



