3S4 



JOUENAL OF HOBTICTJLTDEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ KoTtmber 9, 1871. 



crop, and, no donbt, kept np a regular Buoeession. Saoh was 

 the system of Mongol sheep-farming two centnrieB ago. The 

 little nucleus of truth around which all this nonsense clustered 

 was simply this — like most of the Polypodiaeese, C. Barometz, 

 as an auxiliary means of propagating and spreading itself, sends 

 out numerous rhizomes or creeping stems. These sometimes 

 assume strange fantastic forms, among which may easily be 

 traced those of sheep or lambs ; no doubt that, in their native 

 soil and climate, they will also attain to something of a sheep- 

 like size, and their being covered with a thick coat of wool 

 almost completes the resemblance. A good stretch of the ima- 

 gination would do the rest, and invest them with legs, and 

 horns, and everything else which a decent sheep requires. I 

 have had a young plant of this Fern for some time, but nothing 

 lamb-!ike has yet made its appearance. It has handsome bi- 

 pinnated erect-growing fronds, and requires a stove tempe- 

 rature. — E. D, Tayloe. 



SELECT PEARS. 



To the two excellent Pears which " T. E." brings to notice 

 I beg to add another — namely, Fortnnee Boisselot, also of 

 Nantes origin. I have fruited it in a pot, and have some very 

 fine fruit, quite as large as the contour of it in the " Diction- 

 uaire de Pomologie." Being a late Pear — February in France, 

 April here probably — it will prove of the three the most valuable. 

 We had fruit of Souvenir du Congres last year of above a pound 

 weight each. Like one of its parents, Williams's Bon Chietien, 

 it does not keep long, but it is nevertheless an acquisition to 

 the September supply. I have not yet fruited the BeurrS de 

 I'Assomption, though we have it with several other new Pears, 

 and hope it will prove a useful one. A French friend has 

 written of it to me in high terms, also very highly of the For- 

 tun^e Boisselot as being a fine-flavoured Pear. — H. Knight, 

 Floors Gardens. 

 1 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



The Asparagus is a hardy plant, and yet when the buds at 

 the base of the shoots are near the surface they sometimes 

 sufier considerably from frost. This might have been one of 

 the reasons of Asparagus being grown in beds, and of the 

 regular manuring and earthing-np being performed before 

 winter — a plan which was almost indispensable, when, instead 

 of Asparagus all green, it was deemed essential to send to table 

 6 or more inches of stem blanched like Sea-kale, with from 

 IJ to 2 inches of green top on the surface. It I had plenty of 

 ground I think I would again revert to the bed-system of 

 culture. It has its advantages, for you can do the plants greater 

 justice during the summer, and Asparagus may thus be grown 

 in a quarter much in the same way as Onions or Parsnips. 

 The spaces between the beds are also useful for such summer 

 crops as Cauliflowers. 



For various reasons, and more especially for making the most 

 of a small extent of ground, I have for some time grown Aspa- 

 ragus in rows 2 feet apart. On first planting these rows the 

 plants were placed on little elevated ridges, as the ground is 

 rather stiii. In course of time, in consequence of the successive 

 snrfacings of rotten dung, the ridges are lost sight of, and the 

 plants appear almost on a level. In this way I have had plenty 

 of good shoots with but little trouble. All my experience points 

 to the simple fact, that to encourage the growth of Asparagus, 

 there is nothing like summer manuring and summer manure- 

 watering. 



Why do I mention this ? Simply that many with sma'I 

 gardens, who have hitherto looked upon Asparagus as beyond 

 their reach, may see that they could have good gatherings from 

 rows that would singly take up little more space than a row of 

 good Cabbages or a couple of rows of Carrots. Many a thriving 

 tradesman is deterred from thinking of Asparagus on account 

 of the deep trenching, the endless amount of manure, the 

 necessary drainage, and the care required to manage even a 

 small bed of Asparagus ; but were the conviction spread, that 

 with moderately loosened and enriched soil Asparagus would do 

 remarkably well with a surface-mulching or manuring, its cul- 

 ture in small gardens would be increased twentyfold, and many 

 an invalid would be refreshed by the dainty dish that at present 

 is felt to be out of reach. 



There is not the slightest necessty for trenching and put- 

 ting in bones and other kinds of manure 3 feet deep. The 

 Asparagus, on the whole, is more of a surface than a deep 

 rooter. A depth of 2 feet, or 20 inches at least, of well-stirred 



soil would be helpful in the way of drainage ; and if no more 

 than 15 or 20 inches of good staple could be procured, then 

 plant in beds, or in rows a little elevated, so as by degrees to in- 

 crease the depth of the good soil. As a row might suit many of 

 your readers having small gardens, I would advise them not to 

 be too particular in digging down manure too far from the 

 surface. Have some mellow, rotten dung mixed with the soil 

 at from 6 to 9 inches from the surface ; mark out the place for 

 the row ; spread the roots well out upon it, and be careful not 

 to allow the fine fibres to become dry after taking up the plants 

 for planting. After watering the roots raise about 5 inches of 

 soil over them, sloping it both ways. Mulch with rotten dang ; 

 and mulch or give manure water in dry summer weather. As 

 regards mulching in summer, the Asparagus may have any- 

 thing from rotten dung to short grass ; and plenty of house 

 sewage, not too strong, should likewise be given. This, and 

 not deep trenching and deep manuring, is the easiest plan of 

 obtaining good-sized, crisp, sweet Asparagus. There are thou- 

 sands of your readers who could give a little manure to a row 

 of Asparagus in autumn, and more manure by a sprinkling 

 of salt in summer, who never could take the trouble of making 

 an Asparagus bed in the old-fashioned way. 



With regard to the plants either for rows or beds, the easiest 

 plan is to sow the seeds not too thickly, and thin the plants 

 out to 6 inches apart. I have tried that plan, and very suc- 

 cessfully, but under the best treatment a gathering can hardly 

 be expected in less than three years from the time of sowing, 

 and it would hardly be economical for those with but little 

 ground to have it occupied all that time without obtaining 

 remunerative produce. Besides, though I have tried with fair 

 success sowing where the plants were to produce, I prefer 

 transplanting plants from one to two years from the seed. In 

 the latter way, by sowing rather thickly, a small space will hold 

 a large number of plants, and then when we transplant fair 

 returns are obtained in the second year, and the ground is, 

 therefore, made the most of. 



Transplanting may be performed every month from the pre- 

 sent time to spring, but on the whole spring planting is pre- 

 ferable — just when the young shoots are from 1^ to 3 inches in 

 length ; but in either case the roots are carefully spread out, 

 damped, covered, and then mulched. Only let the idea prevail 

 that surface-mulching with rotten dung and a little salt in 

 summer are of more importance than deep trenching, and many 

 an artisan's and tradesman's table will be graced with Aspara- 

 gus in its season. 



As regards kinds, I may be wrong, but my opinion, based on 

 practice, is that there is only one kind, I might almost say one 

 variety of Asparagus, and that differences in appearance are less 

 owing to seed or variety than to the mode of culture and varia- 

 tions of soil. Asparagus might be made passable in the stiffest 

 hungriest soil, but that produced in a deep, rich, light loam 

 could not easily be equalled. Hence in very stiff clayey loams 

 burning a part of the clay, elevating the beds and rows, and 

 lightening the soil with rotten leaf-mulching and lime rubbish, 

 wilt be of great advantage. 



Before cutting down a part of the Asparagus here, a quantity 

 of seed was gathered, and then the tops were thrown into a 

 heap to be burnt or charred. As showing the peculiarities of 

 the season, many of the berries of the Asparagus were greenish- 

 brown instead of ripe and bright red. I resorted to burning 

 the tops rather unwillingly, as when cut before the feathery 

 foliage falls, they make a good protection and light withal. 

 The seed, however, which is left in such cases so drops, and 

 grows afterwards, as often to render Asparagus a troublesome 

 weed. 



FoEciNG.— It is necessary to cut down early the Asparagus 

 which is to be forced early, and if we had plenty of ground and 

 little glass, I should like to have Asparagus from November 

 until it came in from the open ground. For obtaining the 

 earliest before Christmas, no mode is better than the old, 

 though wasteful plan, of taking the roots up and packing them 

 closely on a mild hotbed, with a covering of 2 or 3 inches of 

 sandy loam and leaf mould. For such early forcing an old bed 

 is often chosen. I much prefer, for all forcing, a piece from 

 which the cutting in spring was early stopped, so that growth 

 and ripening were early completed. With such materials, 

 even for a fair-sized establishment, I have been satisfied with 

 one or two lights of a frame at a time, generally using one at 

 first, and in a fortnight or three weeks afterwards taking to the 

 second. There is no better plan for obtaining early Asparagus 

 in the late months of the year, nor, indeed, at any time, so far 

 as the supply is concerned ; but the waste of old, good plants 



