Ill 



to the sun, and least shaded by shrubs and trees, is to 

 be chosen for the situation of the Asparagus quarter. 



In France, when making an Asparagus bed, a 

 pit is dug five feet in depth, and the mould which is 

 taken from it sifted, taking care to reject all stones, 

 even as low in size as a filbert nut. This, however, 

 is a very erroneous practice, for not only should the 

 stones be left, but broken oyster-shells be added, to 

 promote the drainage. The best parts of the mould 

 are laid aside for making up the beds. The materials 

 of the bed are then laid in the following proportions 

 and order : — 6 inches of common dunghill manure, 8 

 inches of turf, 6 inches of dung as before, 6 inches of 

 earth, 8 inches of turf, 6 inches of very rotten dung, 

 8 inches of earth. The last layer of earth must then 

 be well mixed with the last of dung. {Cal. Hort. 

 Mem. ii. 247.) 



If the above materials were thus prepared twelve- 

 months before they were required, and the whole 

 being decayed together, could be cut down and incor- 

 porated at the time of making the beds, the mixture 

 would be good. But to put the turf fresh in layers 

 is interposing barriers most unnecessarily to the deep 

 rooting of the plants, in which they so much dehght. 



That such materials would produce fine Asparagus 

 there can be no doubt, and so they ought, for we have 

 here 1 8 inches in depth of manure, besides 8 of turf, 

 both of which are costly materials. What the Aspa- 



