159 



After these two first, and during the following years, 

 the beds are likewise uncovered every year in October, 

 and immediately after Easter they are covered again, 

 with at least a foot of good well sifted mould, that 

 the Asparagus shoots may grow longer. It seldom 

 happens that the plants fail when thus managed, and 

 when the dung, before the planting, has been well and 

 equally trodden in ; but should this be the case, they 

 may be replaced by others, which must be treated in 

 the same way as above directed. (Cal. Hort. Mem. 

 iii. 421.) 



About Nice and other parts of France, where As- 

 paragus culture is very successfully practised. Dr. 

 MaccuUock informs us that the following is the system 

 of culture : — 



The quarter must be divided into beds five feet 

 wide, by paths constructed of turf, two feet in breadth 

 and one foot in thickness. The Asparagus must be 

 planted about the end of March eighteen inches asun- 

 der. In planting them, the bud, or top of the shoot, 

 is to be placed at the depth of an inch and a half in 

 the ground, while the roots must be spread out as 

 wide as possible, in the form of an umbrella. A 

 small bit of stick must be placed as a mark at each 

 plant, as it is laid in the ground. As soon as the 

 earth is settled and dry, a spadeful of fine sand is to 

 be thrown on each plant, in the form of a molehill. 

 If the Asparagus plants should have begun to shoot 



