I04 ASPARAGUS 



to keep the temperature from rising above 80°. 

 When the points of the shoots begin to appear above 

 the sand the crop is ready to cut. When ground is 

 plentiful, a supply of forcing crowns can be kept 

 up by sowing a little seed every year, having five 

 or six successions, the oldest plants being forced for 

 cutting." 



With French gardeners it is customarj^ to plunge 

 the frames in warm stable manure and place the roots 

 diredlly in the manure, packed as closely together as 

 possible. A mere sprinkling of soil is placed over 

 them. As a result the shoots come up very thick. 

 Only strong, fine three-year-old roots are used, and 

 as many as five crops of roots follow each other through 

 the autumn, winter, and spring in the same frame. 

 Straw mats are used to cover the frames at night. 



FORCING IN THE FIELD 



Forcing asparagus where it is grown in the field 

 has a twofold advantage over removing the roots to a 

 warm place. First, it saves the trouble and expense of 

 transplanting them, which must be done with much 

 care; and, second, it saves the plants from being ruined 

 by the forcing process. Plants forced in the field 

 where they grow will, if given good care, regain their 

 vigor in a season or two, and may be used again for 

 forcing. By this latter method a better quality and a 

 larger quantity of marketable asparagus is also secured. 



Various means have been devised to force asparagus 

 in the field, w^here it is so well established that it 

 continues growth in the summer as though it had not 

 been forced the previous winter. A simple and rather 



