ASPARAGUS. 51 



ASPARAGUS. 



This vegetable is not grown very extensively in the 

 South. While there are several reports of success we 

 have more reports of failures. These reports of 

 failures would not have been recorded in so many in- 

 stances if the proper attention had been given to fer- 

 tilization and cultivation. In the States where it is 

 grown for the New York markets it is not uncommon 

 to spend from $300 to $600 per acre for fertilizer. 

 Manure from the large cities is employ ed to a consider- 

 able extent, but chemical fertilizer may be employed 

 with profit. 



Mr. F. Brill, in his Farm Gardening and Seed 

 Growing, says : "As a rule, asparagus succeeds best 

 near the sea coast, though it can be (and is) profitably 

 grown far inland, upon most any soil, by proper cul- 

 tivation and careful attention, and, in fact, this is a 

 very essential point and the great secret of success in 

 any locality." The point emphazied by Mr. Brill is 

 the one overlooked by most growers. Somehow the 

 idea has become current that asparagus will do well 

 under any treatment, and no attention is required ex- 

 cept to gather the crop. In selecting the field it should 

 be moist and yet not wet ; a water soaked piece will 

 not grow this crop. While it wants an abundance of 

 moisture it must not be sour. Land that has been 

 drained often makes the best plots. 



PREPARATION OF THE PLOT. 



Deep plowing, to loosen up the subsoil, is the first 

 act after the plot has been drained. Among the best 

 growers the opinion is held that it is difficult to make 

 the land too rich or have it too well prepared. The 

 roots penetrate the soil deeply and to a great extent ; 



