36 ASPARAGUS 



13 ver}' difficult to thin them out, and if left they will 

 produce an inferior growth. 



POT-GROWN ASPARAGUS PLANTS 



In the tests made at the Missouri Experiment 

 Station, Prof. J. C. Whitten found that it is much 

 better to plant the seeds in six inches of rich, sandy- 

 soil in the greenhouse or hotbed, in February or early 

 March, than to wait two or three months for outdoor 

 planting. Professor Whitten advises to ' ' sow liberallj^, 

 for seven-eighths of the seedlings should be discarded. 

 When the seedlings are three inches high, selecft those 

 which have the thickest, fleshiest, and most numerous 

 stems, and pot them. They vary more than almost 

 any other vegetable. Many that appear large and 

 vigorous will have broad, flat, twisted, or corrugated 

 stems. Discard them. Beware, also, of those that 

 put out leaves close to the soil. These will all make 

 tough, stringy, undesirable plants. The best plants 

 are those which are cylindrical, smooth, and free from 

 ridges. They shoot up rapidly, and attain a liight of 

 two inches before leaves are put out. They look much 

 like smooth needles. This matter of selecting the best 

 plants for potting, and subsequent planting out, is of 

 the greatest importance in asparagus culture. 



' ' These 3'oung plants should first be put in small 

 pots and moved into larger ones as soon as they are 

 well rooted. They may need to be shifted twice before 

 they are planted out-of-doors, which should be done 

 when danger of frost is over. Started in this way 

 they continue to grow from the time they are planted 

 out and reach very large size the first season. In the 



