72 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



face of the bed. I then go to my barn-yard, take a load of clean, fresh 

 stable manure, and add thereto half a bushel of hen-dung, turning over 

 and mixing the whole together throughout. I apply one such load 

 to every twenty feet in length of my Asparagus beds, which are six 

 feet wide. With a strong tliree-pronged spade or fork, I dig this dress- 

 ing under. In the Spring, as eaidy as possible, I turn the top of the 

 bed over lightly once more, and cover the surface about a quarter 

 of an inch thick with fine packing salt ; it is not too much. As the 

 Spring rains come down it gradually disolves. Not a weed will 

 appear during the whole season, but it would do your eyes good to see 

 the strong, stout, tender stalks of the vegetable itself, pushing through 

 the surface. I do not at all stretch a point when I say that they are 

 often as large round as my hoe handle, and as tender and succulent as 

 any I ever tasted. The same round of treatment is given to my bed 

 every year. 



" I have a word to say about cutting Asparagus and then I am done: 

 Market gardeners, and I believe a good many other people, cut Aspara- 

 gus as soon as the point of the shoot pushes an inch or two through 

 the ground. They have then about two inches of what grows above 

 ground and from four to six inches of what grows below. The latter 

 looks white and tempting; I suppose people think that because the 

 white part of celery is tender the white part of Asparagus must be too. 

 But it is as tough as a stick, and this is the reason why people, when 

 it is boiled, always are forced to eat only the tops, and leave the bottom 

 of the shoots on their plates. My way is never to cut any of the shoots 

 below the surface of the ground. Cut it as soon as it has grown to 

 proper height, say five or six inches above ground. The whole is then 

 green, but it is all tender^ it will melt in your mouth. 



THE PLUM CUECULIO, Conotrachelus mnujphar. 



BY WM. SAUNDERS, LONDON, ONT. 



Tlie season when the "little Turk" begins his destructive work on 

 our plum crop is at hand, and it behoves all growers of this fruit, hence- 

 forward for several weeks, to make a vigorous onslaught on this stealthy 

 foe. Although the Plum Curculio has been so often described, and is 



