DWYEE'S GUIDE. 



ASPARAGUS. 



This is one of the choicest and most desirable of all the fruits and 

 vegetables, and one of the simplest to grow. A bed once established will, 

 with proper care, last for fifteen to twenty years without resetting. 



The Asparagus is one of the best and most healthful products of the 

 garden; one of the first of the many fruits and vegetables that we can 

 enjoy In the early Spring. With the average season it is ready for table 

 use — in this section about the middle of April and continues to produce 

 edible stalks until July first. We can therefore hope to have this luscious, 

 healtn imparting vegetable every day for ten weeKs. We might add that 

 we have for several years past enjoyed this excellent dish here at the 

 writer's home for this length of time, and very often use it at two of the 

 meals each day. If for want of land we were restricted to the growing of 

 one vegetable, it would be the Asparagus. No garden plot can be con- 

 sidered a well provided one with- 

 out a good portion of it is planted 

 with this desirable vegetable. 



We are often asked, "hlow many 

 plants do we need for our family?" 

 This is a hard question to answer 

 Intelligently without first knowing 

 something about the existing con- 

 ditions. In a general way, how- 

 ever, and with a thorough knowl- 

 edge of the requirements of our 

 own family in this respect, we feel 

 pretty safe in advising two hun- 

 dred and fifty plants for a family 

 of five persons: five hundred plants 

 for a family of ten. Boys and girls 

 from seven to twelve years of age 

 will eat as much of this vegetable 

 as adults, and they ought to have 

 all they want of it, too. It is good 

 for all. The plants are inexpensive, 

 easily cultivated, and a bed once 

 properly established will last for 

 many years. 



The above remarks are, of 

 course, intended more especially 

 for the amateur gardener. We want to say, however, and without fear 

 of just criticism, too, that when the conditions are reasonably favorable 

 there is no single vegetable or fruit that from year to year will be a 

 source of more profit to tne commercial market gardener than an acre or 

 two or more of the Asparagus. Here is a product of the garden always in 

 demand. Plants comparatively cheap, requiring no special skill to plant 

 and cultivate, an easy and pleasant crop to prepare for market and 

 above all one that brings the first income from the garden in the early 

 Spring. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The author has grown the Asparagus suc- 

 cessfully on a variety of soils. Most any land will do, providing it is 



