Ashes 



80 ) 



Asparagus 



erect habit, pendula has weeping branches, and 

 variegata has variegated leaves. The Mountain 

 Ash grows from 10' to 30' in height. The American 

 Mountain Ash is Pyrus americana. 



ASHES. 



These are the remains of substances which have 

 gone through the process of burning, and their 

 value as fertilisers depends on the character of the 

 material from which they are obtained. Whatever 

 that material may be, the slower the process of 

 change the better, for then mor carbon or char- 

 coal is preserved in the refuse, and this is one of 

 the most valuable constituents of the ashes. When 

 green timber, sticks, and garden refuse are burnt 

 for the production of ashes, slow combustion should 

 be effected by getting a good body of fire, and then 

 banking the burning material over with sods or re- 

 tentive soil, leaving a small opening, sufficient to 

 admit enough air to keep up a smouldering fire. 

 By this method the largest amount of valuable 

 refuse is obtained. 



Coal Ashes. The application of the contents 

 of the domestic ashpit to garden soil may be bene- 

 ficial or otherwise, according to the character and 

 condition of the land. The fertilising properties 

 of coal ashes are very small, and their chief value 

 lies in their mechanical effect on stiff clay soil. 

 Land that is heavy and retentive can be made 

 more porous by coal ashes incorporated with the 

 subsoil. The injurious effects of this material are 

 observed where ground is treated to heavy appli- 

 cations year by year. Frequent large dressings 

 will cause light, fertile loam to lose its holding 

 power, and the chief virtues of the soil to depart. 

 They lead to scab in Potatoes. A few garden vege- 

 tables appreciate finely sifted coal ashes, and the 

 material is useful for protecting the crowns of 

 plants and bulbs that need such treatment through 

 the winter. For plunging pots of bulbs before 

 they start growth, and making beds on which to 

 stand pot plants, ashes are very suitable. They 

 are also valuable for making dry walks in kitchen 

 gardens and other places. 



Wood Ashes. Waste sticks, prunings, trim- 

 mings, and weeds, which collect in every garden, 

 may be put to a useful purpose by reducing them 

 to ashes. Potash is the chief fertilising property 

 contained in this material, and previous to appli- 

 cation the ashes should be kept dry, because if 

 exposed to bea.vy rains the above constituent is 

 washed out, and the chief value of the material is 

 lost. Fruits and vegetables appreciate wood ashes, 

 and the material is also valuable for mixing with 

 soil for pot plants. The potash is of great benefit 

 to Strawberries. . In the kitchen garden they may 

 be applied to Onions, Carrots, Beet, and Potatoes 

 with advantage. Light surface dressings of wood 

 ashes improve the appearance of thin and patchy 

 lawns. 



Peat Ashes. Silica, gypsum, and carbonate of 

 lime are contained in these, and they are useful for 

 vegetable crops and lawns. 



Turf Ashes. These are obtained by the burning 

 of turf sods, and contain fertilising properties in 

 small proportions, rendering them useful for surface 

 dressings on grass, and for digging into the soil for 

 vegetable crops. 



ASIMINA (syn. OKCHIDOCAEPUM). 

 Hardy, usually deciduous, shrubs (ord. Anona- 

 ceso) of no great decorative value. Propagated by 



layers in autumn, and by seed. Soil sand and 

 peat in equal portions. 



Principal Species : 



triloba, 10', My., pale pur., yel. Papaw or 

 Custard Apple (syn. Auona triloba). 



ASPALATHUS. 



Cool-house herbs or sub-shrubs (ord. Legumin- 

 osse), indigenous to the Cape, with a single excep- 

 tion. Propagated by cuttings of matured shoots. 

 Soil equal proportions of peat, loam, and sand. 



Principal Species : 



Over 100 have been described, but they are 

 rarely seen, and it would be complete waste of 

 space to describe them. The following is a small 

 selection : 



affinis, 3', Jy., yel. 

 albeiis, 4', Jy., wh. 



globosa, 3', Jy., or. 

 sericea, 2', Jy., yel. 



ASPARAGUS (ORNAMENTAL). 



Description. A genus of herbs or shrubs (ord. 

 LiliaceaV), most of them climbers, with small and 

 inconspicuous flowers succeeded by red, orange, or 

 black berries. Most of the decorative forms delight 

 in the temperature of a warm greenhouse or stove. 

 Some are excellent basket plants, and of these 

 retrofractus and Sprengeri are the chief. The 

 popular Smilax is now placed in this genus. It is 

 extensively cultivated both in this country and 

 America for its long trails of rich green, which 

 last exceptionally well when cut. Consignments 

 of these trails have been successfully shipped from 

 New York to Covent Garden. Plumosus and p. 

 nanus are well-known substitutes for Maidenhair 

 Fern, which they greatly outlast in the cut state. 

 The lightness and elegance of the sprays make 

 them first favourites with the florist. 



Propagation. By seeds, sown in brisk heat as 

 soon as they are ripe ; by layers ; and by root 

 division. 



Soil. Equal parts of loam and leaf soil, with a 

 little sand. 



Other Cultural Points. Plenty of water is re- 

 quired during the growing season, but less in the 

 winter, when even the evergreen forms are to 

 some extent at rest. This curtailing of the water 

 supply is especially necessary with plumosus when 

 it is growing in a cool house, otherwise the leaves 

 turn yellow and many of the " needles " fall. 

 Plumosus is usually trained to a trellis or pillar. 

 P. nanus needs very little support. 



Asparagus medeoloides, the popular Smilax, 

 formerly called Myrsiphyllum, is largely grown by 

 training its growths to long strings running from 

 the ground to the roof of the house. Such is the 

 strength of healthy plants that they will frequently 

 make 12' of growth in one season. The shoots 

 may be cut back close to the ground, and this 

 encourages the tuberous root thongs to throw up 

 others. The plants are kept regularly syringed, 

 and weak liquid cow manure mixed with soot is 

 given occasionally in the height of the season. 

 The temperature for all the warm greenhouse 

 Asparaguses should not be allowed to fall below 

 50 in winter. The chief insect pest is mealy hug, 

 which must be watched for continuously. If once 

 it gets a footing amongst the " fronds " of pltimosus 

 there is nothing for it but to cut the plant back, 

 since insecticides cannot penetrate the dense net- 

 work of needles. 



