176 THE VALE OF EVESHAM 



attacks the stems. During the last season or two this 

 hitherto unreported disease has threatened to destroy 

 the value of one of the most useful fruits recently 

 introduced. 



If the Pershore plum made the district originally, 

 the most recent factor in its success has been asparagus, 

 of which great breadths might be seen on almost every 

 holding. Years ago asparagus was regarded as only 

 suited to light land, but it has been found to revel in 

 the heavy Lias clay, establishing itself freely with no 

 further aid than the old turf turned in, without any 

 of the lavish dressings of farmyard manure which are 

 usually considered necessary but are quite unattainable 

 in this district. Moreover, on the heavy soil the 

 asparagus grows bold, thick stalks of excellent flavour, 

 and " Evesham grass " holds the highest reputation 

 in the market amongst those who prefer the English 

 asparagus, with its comparatively long green top, to 

 the more artificial article, mainly tough yellow stem, 

 which is imported from Argenteuil. The fields of 

 asparagus formed the greenest feature in the landscape, 

 and the tall stems, with their waving, feathery foliage, 

 were evidently revelling in the heat ; but the runner 

 beans, which were not infrequently planted on the 

 sides of the rows of asparagus (for in this country, with 

 land so dear, every yard is doubly cropped), were at a 

 standstill. Runner beans, not staked but kept dwarf 

 by pinching, form a common crop, and were short and 

 small this year, as also were the vegetable marrows, 

 which often occupied a neighbouring strip. Indeed, 

 the Evesham country appeared to be suffering from 

 the drought more severely than any other district we 

 had seen, and the nearer the land to the bottom of 

 the valley and the river the worse it had been hit. 

 The early season had been good ; the asparagus had 



