- 

 ASPARAGUS. 523 



The gardeners pretend to distinguish two sorts ; the 

 Battersea and the Gravesend. 



There are various methods pursued in forming new 

 plantations of Asparagus : the most common one is to 

 trench the ground from two to three feet deep, mixing 

 with the soil a good quantity of rotten dung. If the 

 soil be good to the depth of three feet, it will not be 

 necessary, under the ordinary culture, to prepare the 

 ground deeper ; but in doing this a large portion of 

 manure is necessary, and it will be requisite that it 

 should be regularly mixed with the soil from the bottom 

 of the trench to the top. If one of the quarters of the 

 garden should be required for Asparagus alone, the 

 whole ought to be trenched and manured as if it were 

 for only one single bed, as the roots spread themselves 

 in all directions, and by penetrating the alleys between 

 the beds the outer rows of heads will always be finer 

 than those in the middle. The ground being prepared, 

 the beds should be set out of the width of five feet, with 

 three feet alleys, fixing a strong stake at the corners 

 of each bed, driven down to the depth of three feet. 

 About the beginning or middle of March proceed thus 

 to plant the beds : strain a line round the four cor- 

 ners of the first bed, cut it down perpendicularly on the ' 

 inside of the line to the depth of three inches, and 

 take out the soil, which must be laid on the alleys 

 on each side, levelling the surface perfectly even ; but 

 take care not to stand upon the bed ; on the contrary, 

 keep the soil as light as possible : mark out four lines, 

 at a foot from each side of the bed, and a foot from each 

 other : measure a foot from the end of the bed, and 

 mark each line at a foot apart, thus forming squares of 

 twelve inches each way. Being now provided with some 

 good one year old plants (not more), open the roots flat, 

 place one plant on each of those places marked on the 

 lines, and fasten it down with a handful of mould to 



