272 



GARDENING FOE THE SOUTH. 



truckers have a peculiar advantage over the Northern 

 gardeners, and they should strive to avail themselves of 

 this opportunity for reaching' the Northern markets be- 

 fore the demand is greatly diminished. After cutting the 

 asparagus the spears are carefully washed and then as- 

 sorted into Extras, Primes and 

 Seconds, the last containing the 

 smaller spears. The bunching 

 is generally done by women in 

 the use of the " buncher " illus- 

 trated in Figure 102. This 

 method insures uniformity in 

 the bunches and neatness in 

 looks. Figure 103 shows the 

 bunch after it has been tied 

 with raffia or other suitable 

 fastener. 



In shipping to a distant mar- 

 ket pack carefully in a crate, 

 taking care to have the vegeta- 

 ble so secure that it will not 

 bruise in transit. The crate 

 usually adopted in the South is 

 known as "Southern crate," 



^^ which is built to hold two to 



_ - _ __ — - . - -■-- , - "s fj iree (i< )Zen bunches set on ends 



Fig. 103-Bunching Asparagus, on m()ist m()SS to keep the ag _ 



paragus fresh. Shipping by express must be resorted to 

 for long distances, so that the vegetable will reach the 

 market in first-class condition. 



BASIL. — (Ocimum HasHicum, and 0. minimum.) 



Two species are cultivated — Sweet Basil ((). Bapilicum) 

 and Bush Basil (0. mini mum). Both are annuals, with 

 small leaves and small white flowers, and natives of the 



