338 GATHERING, STORING AND PACKING 



given and this makes the plant far less profitable. 

 Bunching depends upon the season. Asparagus forced 

 very early is often put up into bundles of twenty-five, 

 whilst later on fifty and one hundred are the usual 

 quantities. When large quantities are grown for sale 

 the shoots are washed if needed and neatly tied. Some 

 place the bundles in water but if left any time the tops 

 soon double over. The best plan is to lay them thinly 

 in cool sheds and lightly damp over, then cover to 

 exclude the light. A very large Asparagus grower 

 adopts the following plan. The beds are gone over 

 daily and the growths put into three sizes, placed in 

 layers on the floor and packed three times a week. 

 Over each lot is placed damp moss covering them over 

 so that the growths are quite dark and they do not 

 get much air. Stored in this way they keep quite 

 fresh and do not lose flavour. In private gardens 

 small quantities of Asparagus are sometimes cut and 

 placed under say one foot of soil. This answers well 

 if there are insufficient shoots at one cutting, and is 

 preferable to placing in water in shallow pans. When 

 forced Asparagus is packed it is well to wrap each 

 bundle round with soft paper, and if sent any distance 

 the bundles must be made firm so that they do not 

 move. It is well to place the heads in the centre. 

 For forced Asparagus fresh moss quite free from soil 

 or grit is a good packing material. When this is 

 used the shoots keep good for several days if placed 

 in shallow flats and ample space is given for the lids. 

 Large quantities if placed close together travel well in 



