96 GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



years ago, having three small Asparagus beds under ray 

 charge, on one of which I applied in December 25 Ibs. of 

 Peruvian guano, dissolved in fifty gallons of water; in 

 April the same application was made to another bed, and 

 the other was left without anything. There was no per- 

 ceptible difference between that to which the liquid had 

 been applied in December and that to which none had 

 been given, but on that which received it in April, nearly 

 double the weight of crop was produced. Since then, all 

 our practice, corroborated by direct experiment, has con- 

 vinced me beyond all doubt, that manures, either liquid or 

 solid, organic or inorganic, are unprofitably employed 

 when applied to plants in the dormant state. 



In gathering the crop, caution must be used not to in- 

 jure the plants by continued cutting ; for it must be borne 

 in mind, that to reproduce annually its crop of shoots in 

 spring, something must be left to grow to encourage the 

 formation of fresh roots. In our market gardens, the 

 practice is to cut off all the shoots as they are ready, un- 

 til the middle of May or 1st of June, when the shoots be- 

 gin to show signs of weakness ; then all is left to grow 

 and no more cut. In its preparation for market, the 

 shoots are tied up in round bunches, containing from 

 twenty to thirty shoots in each. The tying material is 

 usually bass-matting, as that is soft and has the necessary 

 strength. It requires a little practice to do the " bunch 

 ing" rapidly, and it should be the object of the beginne 

 to strive to attain -this, as it is light work, and continued 

 slowness in the operation will make a serious gap in the 

 profits. 



This crop is subject to so many conditions, that an aver- 



