ii6 



The Canadian Horticui/furist. 



^ Jfpe }Kitcl7ef) (i-apdei). ^ 



ASPARAGUS.— III. 



THE MARKET PLANTATION. 



HILE for one's own table, asparagus should be Cut arid 

 cooked in the same hour, by judicious handling the pro- 

 duct of a field may be kept two or three days and be 

 fresh and plump for the market. This is done by stand- 

 ing the bunches in fresh water and renewing it once in 

 twelve hours, removing a little of the loose ends of the 

 bunches with a sharp knife just previous to placing it on 

 the market. My practice is to keep my field clean of all sprouts from the 

 beginning to the end of the picking season. A shoot that is grassy or gnarled is 

 thrown away or fed to the calves. 



The plantation should not be weakened by too long a season of gathering. 

 A good rule to follow is to stop when the early peas are ready to market from 

 adjoining land. 



I have given a good deal of attention to the literature of asparagus profits and 

 confess that while my own product compares favorably in quantity with that 

 secured from the same area by eastern gardeners, my profits are but a fraction 

 of theirs. 



The growing of asparagus as a field crop, however, in our State, may be made 

 a source of considerable profit, even at moderate prices. The labor, after a plan- 

 tation is once established, comes at a season when it is least felt. The income, 

 on the other hand, materializes at a season when it is most needed — before other 

 sources have begun to render any assistance. 



Two exigencies have materially reduced the profits from my own field : (i) 

 untimely frosts, which may in a single night nip the buds which would otherwise 

 mature into a full picking ; (2) a hard wind will occasionally arise just as a 

 picking of shoots is nearly ready, and blow particles of sand against them, punc- 

 turing the epidermis and inducing a gnarled, monstrous and often woody growth, 

 thus destroying the picking for market. 



To avoid evil results from the first contingency, I shall this year smooth my 

 field in autumn and spread over it a coating of coarse barn manure. This will 

 make a protection for winter, and in spring this will be hauled between the rows 

 and be in readiness to quickly draw over the yoi^ng buds upon a sudden depres- 

 sion of temperature indicative of frost. This can be done at a very slight ex- 

 pense and perhaps the investment of a few pennies may save as many dollars. 



For the second difficulty I have no remedy, because the field is so situated 

 that I cannot protect it from the prevailing winds by any wind-break. Had I 



