136 On the Cultivation of Asparagus. 



trenches will, by October, be filled up as level as the bed was be- 

 fore setting out the roots. 



The practice adopted by most, if not all, growers of this vege- 

 table is, to set out the plants in deep trenches, and cover them, at 

 once, six or eight, and in some instances twelve, inches deep. 

 Nothing can be more injurious than this ; for a great part of the 

 roots, especially those that are small, seldom make shoots strong 

 enough to force their way through this depth of soil, and they con- 

 sequently perish ; or, if they come up, they are weak and small, 

 and never afterwards attain to any size. It is an old system, and, 

 like that of growing celery, now generally exploded, it. should be 

 likewise. In the method I have adopted, the roots have but a slight 

 covering of earth, when planted, and the young shoots come for- 

 ward very fast ; as they increase in vigor, little more is added, till, 

 by the assistance of the heavy summer rains, which wash the soil 

 from the ridges into the trenches, they are completely covered. 

 Scarcely a root has ever failed to grow. Upon the approach of 

 cold weather, and after the tops have been killed by frost, they 

 should be cut down even with the ground, and carried off; the bed 

 should then be covered with two or three inches of fine horse ma- 

 nure, which should remain on until spring, when it must be forked 

 into the surface of the bed. In doing this, be careful not to injure 

 the crowns of the roots. Just before the shoots make their appear- 

 ance, give the bed a good raking, which will destroy the weeds 

 that are starting to grow. It is a bad practice to plant asparagus 

 beds with radishes, lettuces, peppergrass, &;c., as they exhaust the 

 goodness of the soil. The second year, a few of the strongest 

 shoots may be cut ; but very sparingly, as the roots will be all the 

 better afterwards. Continue to pursue the same system of culture 

 every year, and the roots will rapidly increase in vigor. 



The soil that asparagus seems most to delight in, is a light, rich, 

 and rather sandy one, neither too wet nor too dry ; when the soil 

 is shallow, the trenches must not be dug so deep as above recom- 

 mended. The manure I made use of, was fresh from the hog-pen, 

 and somewhat strawy ; but I presume any good manure would an- 

 swer equally as well. The asparagus is a marine plant, and a light 

 dressing of marsh mud, in the fall or spring, seems to increase the 

 growth of the plants. I would recommend it when it can be 

 easily obtained. Beds prepared in this manner, and yearly attend- 

 ed to, will last for a long length of time, and the produce will be 

 of superior quality. 



The plants may be raised from seeds, which should be sown in 

 May, in a rich, sandy soil, in rows twelve or fifteen inches apart, 

 and scattered tolerably thick in the rows. Cover them an inch 

 deep, and when the young plants are up, keep them clear of weeds, 

 and give them frequent hoeings. Pursue the same culture during 

 the summer of the second year, and in the spring of the third they 



