380 THE KITCHEN GARDEN. [May. 



from two to four inches above ground, and the top buds or heads 

 remaining close and compact; soon after, they become open and 

 of less estimation. For the proper method of cutting them, see 

 page 192. 



Keep the asparagus beds perfectly free from weeds, and let it be 

 remembered, to terminate the general cutting as soon as you per- 

 ceive the coming up roots begin to appear small or weaker than 

 usual; for if continued cutting too late in the season, it would 

 greatly exhaust the roots, and the next and succeeding years' pro- 

 duce would be diminished in proportion. 



Beets. 



Weed or hoe your early crops of beets, and thin them, if in beds, 

 to one foot asunder, or if in drills, to eight or nine inches, plant 

 from plant. Continue to sow more, especially of the red beet, for 

 a succession crop, which will succeed very well if sown in the early 

 part of the month. A full and abundant supply of this very excel- 

 lent vegetable ought to be cultivated in every garden. For the 

 methods of sowing, see page 194. 



Onions. 



The onions which were sown at an early season, with an expec- 

 tation of their growing to a sufficient size for table use the first 

 year from seed, should now be perfectly cleared from weeds, and 

 the plants thinned to about three inches from one another, being 

 careful to leave the largest and best; they should be thinned at an 

 early period, and kept totally free of weeds from the moment of 

 their appearance above ground to the period of their perfection. 



This work may either be performed by hand or with a small 

 hoe; the latter is the cpuickest method, and the stirring the ground 

 therewith will be of great service to the growth of the plants: have 

 for this purpose a small one-hand hoe about two inches broad, or, 

 in want of this, an old table-knife, bent a little at the end, about 

 an inch, by heating in a fire, will answer very well for small or 

 moderate crops. 



The plantations arising from seed onions should now be kept very 

 clean, and also the late sown crops intended to produce small 

 bulbs for next year's planting. 



Turnips. 



Hoe and thin your advancing crops of turnips, and sow some 

 more of the early Dutch or early stone kinds for a succession: this 

 sowing should be performed in the first week of the month, in 

 order that the roots should have time to grow to a good size before 

 their being overtaken by the great summer heat anil drought, which 

 are very inimical to them. In the doing of this, take advantage of 

 moist or cloudy weather, or immediately after rain, and sow the 

 seed on a bed of good mellow ground, thin and even: tread it down 

 and rake it in regularly. 



