IO2 Gardening in Egypt. 



which should be previously moistened by a slight 

 sprinkling of water if dry. 



In eight or ten weeks the mushrooms will appear, 

 when they should be cut off carefully so as not to injure 

 the roots. The crop will continue for some months. 



Asparagus officinalis Asparagus. This plant is 

 found growing wild in the Nile valley. In the gardens 

 its cultivation is extending very rapidly, but generally 

 the crops are poor and the heads are very thin and 

 small in size. 



The beds should be prepared about Christmas, in 

 the following way : First, the soil ought to be dug 

 about 3ft. deep, and ift. of clinkers, pottery, or broken 

 bricks thrown in, in order to facilitate drainage; then 

 a foot of the ordinary soil placed over the drainage ; 

 and, lastly, the remaining space filled with rich sandy 

 soil, which has previously been well mixed with old 

 decomposed manure. 



The beds are made two or three metres wide, 

 and should not be raised as in Europe, but kept 

 low in order to facilitate watering by irrigation. 

 The seeds should be sown early in March in small 

 beds of their own, or can be planted somewhat earlier 

 in pots. If the former system is preferred, a few 

 pots of seedlings should always be kept to fill up 

 vacancies. When the seedlings are a year old they 

 may be planted out in their permanent beds. They 

 should be placed six inches apart, and a little salt 

 might with advantage be added to the soil. Water 

 must be given every second day, and the beds 

 never allowed to get very dry. The plants should 

 not be cut the first year after planting out, but 

 some people recommend picking off the seeds without 

 injuring the foliage, in order to strengthen the crowns. 



The second year a crop may be expected, and 

 cutting should continue from March until July, 

 though the finest crop is in April and May. To 

 obtain white well-bleached heads, the Arab growers 

 recommend pieces of hollow bamboo cane being 



