AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 231 



moderately — this suits in good soil, but if the soil should be rather 

 -calcareous or clayey and wet and cold, he uses city manure and 

 night soil mixed with dry leaves and horse dung; when the soil 

 is dry and hot I use cow and ox dung. The manure being thus 

 in the trenches I cover it as even as possible with good soil about 

 six or seven inches deep. I make four rows in a bed and set my 

 roots Quinctmx about ten or twelve inches apart — thus, ° » * . I 

 leave margin on my beds of nearly ten inches, or else the roots 

 would get into my paths. The roots placed in the outsides of the 

 bed should have their largest eyes turned to the centre of the bed. 

 I set pickets at each end of the rows, so as to know where the roots 

 are; I then smooth the surfaces of the beds, stamp on them well 

 and evenly; I then rake tlie surftice smooth so that no trace of 

 the planting remains; I then cover the paths all over with good 

 mould or with good clean straw. My pickets mark the lines 

 where the roots are. I set out cabbages, lettuce, cauliflowers on 

 the margins of the beds; sometimes I sow early carrots, or white 

 onions, or spinach, or other plants whose roots do not go deep. 

 These plants which I generally water, help the asparagus as far as 

 the end of August. It often happens that insects attack the as- 

 paragus shoots in the spring, and I take the pains to shake them 

 off into pans and burn them with straw, for they are injurious to 

 the whole plant. You must pick off the seeds as they form, be- 

 cause when they ripen they enfeeble the roots. In the course of 

 the year the manure diminishes in the ground so that the beds 

 must be heaped up. In February I spade between the rows. 

 Every year the beds want raising a few inches by means of put- 

 ting on good rich soil, I cut my asparagus very carefully, feeling 

 with my hand the place to cut, which I do with a sharp pointed 

 tool ; when cut I cover the place with soil again. When the 

 cutting is over for the year I cover tlie beds with good fresh dung 

 straw for the rest of the summer; it keeps the ground fresh. (It 

 is a good mulch ! Meigs.) My beds will last ten years. 



The committee congratulated Mr. Lenormand for his beautiful 

 asparagus culture, and thanked him for the information he had 

 given. 



[Bullelin Mensuel de la Societe Tmperiale Zoologique D' Acclimation.] 

 Sessio7i of February, 1856. 



SILK. 



The introduction of the Saturnia Mylitta and its naturaliza- 

 tion are very important facts. This society desires to learn all 

 the details relative to this precious insect. 



