54 BULLETIN 196, U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



William H. Hudson, who put up about 400 dozen tins in 1864. The package used 

 was almost identical with the No. 3 square can of to-day. The preliminary treatment 

 in the way of cutting and blanching was also very similar to that now used. The pro- 

 cessing was different, for the cans were first held in a bath for 30 minutes, then vented, 

 and afterward held for an hour and a half in a bath of boiling water. The indus- 

 try grew fairly rapidly in New York and New Jersey, but has almost ceased since 

 California became a producer in the early nineties. The real packing of asparagus 

 in California was established by Mr. Hickmott, who began experiments in 1881 but 

 was not very successful until 1890. The distinctive feature of his method was the 

 erection of the cannery very near the asparagus beds, so that the product might be 

 collected and delivered in a perfectly fresh state, as the holding of the product for 

 even a short time greatly impairs the flavor. 



The asparagus produced on the western coast has the advantage of unusual natural 

 conditions for growth, as the beds are in the delta lands along the Sacramento and 

 San Joaquin Rivers. The soil is of wonderful fertility, light and mellow, so that it 

 may be hilled high to produce long, large stalks. The spring Ls cool, insuiing gi'owth 

 that is not too rapid, each spear being succulent and tender. The stalks are naturally 

 bleached so that they are very white. Even food officials have believed the canned 

 article to be chemically treated to obtain the very pale color. 



Asparagus is a costly product, because it can be grown only upon very valuable 

 land and a great amount of hand labor is reqiiii-ed. The growing is the same as for 

 the market, only the beds cover hundreds of acres. The plants are set close together 

 in rows 4 feet apart. Three years are required to bring them to a productive state. 

 When the plants have stooled sufficiently to permit the removal of a part of the stalks 

 for consumption, the rows are covered over with soil to a depth of a foot or more. 

 These are kept hilled up in the spring and free from all weeds. Tliis great depth 

 forces the new stalk to grow about 1 foot to reach the light, and, as no color is formed 

 until light reaches the tip, the stalk is perfectly pale or white. The harvesters pass 

 between the rows looking for a spear wherever they see the ground cracked or broken. 

 When found, a cutter very much Like a carpenter's chisel is inserted at such an angle 

 as to cut the stalk about 9 inches below the surface. The stalk is drawn from the 

 ground carefully so that the top may not be marred nor snapped off. Only one stalk 

 can be cut at a time and the cutting must be done every day or every other day. The 

 cutters carry the stalks in baskets to convenient points and empty them between the 

 rows. A man with a small sled follows closely beliind the cutters, picks up the 

 "grass," and cords it on the sled, keeping all tips in one direction. It is next hauled 

 to some convenient point in the field where water is available. There the "grass" is 

 picked off the sled and placed in a frame, the tips all turned in one directioii against 

 a smooth board wall. Tliis frame is from 1 foot to 2 feet in height and from 6 to 8 feet. 

 lor^. WTien it is filled, a board is pressed on top of the grass, and by using this and 

 the bottom as guides all stalks are cut to a uniform length of 7| inches. All the stalk 

 in excess of this length is waste. The next step is to dump the cut grass into a tank 

 of water to wash off adherent grit. It is absolutely necessary that this washing should 

 be done before any drying takes place, for with the drying a certain amount of stain- 

 ing develops, and this can not be removed by any subsequent treatment. 



The stalks are picked out of the water by hand, again arranged with tips in one 

 direction, and corded in crates in two rows, the tips being kept to the center. The 

 boxes are hauled to the factory promptly, so that the asparagus can be used within a 

 few hours, thus avoiding all possibility of wilting. At all the better canneries work 

 upon the grass is begun within three hours from the time it is cut and stock is not 

 carried over from one day to the next. 



At the factory the first operation is to empty the crate upon a sorting table, where 

 the stalks are sorted into five grades, based on size, and into two qualities, dependent 

 upon whether the stalks are wholly blanched or partially green. They are further 



