f^-i*'*"^' ASPARAGUS 



[y there is a decided difference, the gain of 

 tlie hiale , over the female plants being seventy-six, 

 fifty-two; sixty-three, and thirty-one per cent, for the 

 four periods respecflively. The difference in j-ield 

 between the two was greatest at first, and diminished 

 toward the last, which pradlically amounts to the same 

 thing as the male being earlier than the female. There 

 is a still further difference between the two in quality 

 of product, the shoots of the female plant being 

 smaller and inferior to those of the male. 



" It is not safe to draw conclusions from such limited 

 observations as these, further, at least, than to accept 

 them as representing the truth approximately. Allow- 

 ing a wide margin for possible error, there would still 

 seem to be sufficient difference in produdtive capacity 

 between the male and female plants to justify the 

 selection of the former and rejection of the latter when 

 a new plantation is to be started. If the figures given 

 in the table are taken as a basis, the gain in the crop, 

 if the male plants alone were used, would each season 

 pay for all the plants rejedted, and leave a handsome 

 margin at the end of the term of years when an aspar- 

 agus bed has served its period of usefulness. Male 

 plants can be secured by division of old plants, or by 

 selecting those that bear no seed, after the)' have 

 attained the age of two j-ears." 



In summing up the results of this experiment. 

 Professor Green states that male asparagus plants are 

 about fift}' per cent, more productive than female 

 plants, and the shoots being larger have a greater 

 market value. 



