No. 4.] GROWING ASPARAGUS. 125 



of only large, straight, full lengths of stalks, while in the poorer grade 

 may lie i)ut (he small, short and crooked ones, if not so crooked as to 

 disfigure the bunches after being packed. At the packing room the 

 grass is put on a table or bench, around which the packers sit and the 

 tier and butter-oflf stand. A table 7 feet long by 5 feet wide will ac- 

 commodate five or six packers, one tier and one butter-off and washer. 

 The packers use a rack, made with a 2 by 4 by 12 inch base, with a 

 ^ inch headboard, G inches high and 4 inches wide. Two inches from 

 the headboard is a U-shaped iron, ^g inch in diameter, 2| inches 

 high, the lower four-fifths of which describes a semicircle of 2} inches 

 diameter. Six inches from the headboard is another similar iron, 2J 

 inches high, the lower part of which describes a semicircle of 2| inches 

 diameter. Between these two irons, and closer to the larger one than 

 to the smaller, a channel is cut across the base, to put the tying mate- 

 rial through when tying. Standing about 6 inches above the large 

 table, in or near the center, is a small revolving table, about 2 feet 

 square, from which the packers take the empty racks and to which 

 they return them when filled, where they are convenient for the tier to 

 reach to place in the tying machine. One man can tic what three to 

 six can pack, according to the size of the grass, and how well it is 

 packed. He needs to be a nimble man, of cjuick good judgment, in 

 order to see that all the bunches are of the same size before putting 

 the pressure on for tying. Under the old order of packing, where 

 each packer tied his own packing by hand, there was too much vari- 

 ation in the size of bunch if there were many packers in the gang. 



The tying machine is better understood by seeing it than from 

 description. It consists of a double hook carried by a hinged and 

 weighted arm fastened to the under side of the table, to which a 

 treadle is hung, on which the tier stands to give pressure to the bunch 

 when tying it. With this machine a man can tie much faster and 

 tighter than by hand. The tying machine is placed midway on one 

 side of the table, while at its left, fastened to one corner of the table, 

 is the cutting machine, gauged to cut off all the butts the same length. 

 The man cutting off butts also does the washing. He has a tub of 

 water close by, into which the bunches are dropped as cut. They 

 are then washed and placed upright in long troughs or sinks, and 

 water put to the grass a few hours before packing in bushel boxes to 

 send to market. Never let the grass get wet above the butts after 

 it is once dry after washing, but keep it as cool and dry as possible, to 

 prevent its commencing to spoil. 



During bright and hot weather, when cutting, the grass will wilt 

 somewhat in the field, but that is no objection, as it will pack better 

 and tie tighter, and it freshens and swells to its normal size after 

 being in the sinks of water a few hours. Care will have to be taken 

 not to make the bunches quite as large as when the grass does not 

 wilt, to allow for the swelling. 



