SIXTEENTJI ANNUAL MEIiTING. 147 



pensable. This implement covers about eight feet of ground 

 at once and can Ije run o\'er the growing rows, for the teeth 

 are long and Hexible enough not to break or injure the stalks. 

 'J'his same weeder is often used on our strawberry beds after 

 the plants have become established, but it has to be used by a 

 careful man. The constant use of this weeder when the weeds 

 are small saves nearly one-half the hand labor on our farm. 



Idle beds are worked thoroughly witli a light harrow each 

 spring before the shoots appear, and a dressing of chemical 

 fertilizer is then applied. \\'e tind that it is not a good plan to 

 give nuich phosphoric acid, as this seems to make the asparagus 

 go to seed more quickly. Lime has a very beneficial effect 

 u])on old asparagus beds, for it frees much nitrogen which 

 was held in the soil in an insoluble state. 



W'e are apt to be troubled with the asparagus beetle for a 

 time early in the season, so the second year after planting the 

 beds are cut f()r about ten days or two weeks in order to pre- 

 vent the beetles from getting a start and producing a second 

 crop of grubs to destroy late shoots. 



The third year the beds are cut for about three or four 

 weeks, and after this are cut the full season of six or seven 

 weeks. The beds are cut over earl}- in the morning, rain or 

 shine, each man taking two rows and cutting all shoots over 

 six inches in height and at the least four inches are cut under- 

 ground. The Boston market requires green asparagus and so 

 it is of an advantage to get more of the stalk about ground 

 than below it. 



The cutters are followed by a man who picks up the as- 

 l)aragus almost as fast as it is cut, placing it upright in bushel 

 boxes. By this method there is much less breakage than when 

 the stalks are laid down in the boxes. From there the boxes 

 are carried to the barn by team, where the bunching is done by 

 boys from fourteen to sixteen. We find that they are gener- 

 ally better than men, as their fingers are not so clumsy. The 

 boys sit about a table six feet square, which has in the centre 

 a smaller table raised above the larger one bv means of a piece 

 of pipe. This smaller table is made to revolve on a piece of 

 pipe and on it are placed the filled and emi)ty forms, so that 

 there is no passing of these from one to the other in order to get 



