22 ASPARAGUS 



tin(5l. Generally these varieties differ only in a single 

 characteristic, and these differences, for the most part, 

 are so little that they are lost when grown under 

 different climatic and soil conditions. The best-in- 

 formed authorities recognize three cultivated varieties, 

 which have distindt commercial charadteristics and 

 whose seeds reproduce them in the seedlings. 



German Giant. — This variety embraces most of the 

 German and French sorts — the Giant Dutch Purple, 

 Ulm Giant, Giant Brunswick, Large Erfurt, Early 

 Darmstadt, and many others. 



Argenteuil. — Of this three sub-varieties are recog- 

 nized — the early, intermediate, and late; and these are 

 the kinds grown almost exclusivel}' in the vicinity of 

 Paris, France, where its culture and improvement have 

 steadily developed for centuries. Under good culture 

 the late Argenteuil produces stalks from three to six 

 inches in circumference, at eight inches below the tips. 



Yellow Burgnndy. — The distindlive charadleristic 

 of this variety is that the young shoots below the sur- 

 face of the soil are light yellow instead of white to tips, 

 being greenish-yellow. It is also claimed to be more 

 rust-resisting than other European sorts. 



VARIETY TESTS 



To determine the comparative effedls of manuring 

 on different varieties of asparagus, and also their com- 

 parative earliness. Prof. S. C. Mason and his assistant, 

 W. L. Hall, of the Kansas Experiment Station, have 

 made some interesting and instrudlive experiments, 



