476 THE PARKS AND GARDENS OP PARIS. [Chap. XXVII. 



frames, filling in the trenches between the beds with stable- 

 manure, and protecting the frames with straw mats and litter to 

 keep in the heat. In the beginning of November the pathways 

 between the beds of Asparagus are dug up about two feet in depth 

 and width. The soil coming from the pathway is divided very 

 carefully, and put about eight inches thick on the surface of the 

 bed. The trench is filled up with new stable-manure, not litter, 

 and frames placed on the bed. The manure should rise as high as 



the top of the frames, 

 and the lights be en- 

 tirely covered with 

 mats and litter to pre- 

 vent the heat accumu- 



Prefarationfor Forcing Asfaragtts. The tretidus are dug out l„f„J •„ +'kQ fvorvia A./^tvi 



and filled with stable-manure, the earth being heafed on the '^^^^ "^ ^'^'^ irame IlOm 



beds. These are covered with rough frames, up to the edge of eSCapiufiT. In about a 



which the Ji£ati7ig-material is piled, p j ■ i i 



fortnight or three 

 weeks, the Asparagus begins to show itself on the surface of the 

 bed. Many market-gardeners cover the whole of the bed inside 

 the frame to a thickness of three or four inches with manure to force 

 the vegetation more quickly, but in this case the manure must be 

 removed when the Asparagus begins to shoot. When the shoots 

 are about three inches out of the ground they may be cut. The 

 mats must be taken off in the daytime, but the heat must be well 

 kept up or the roots and buds will fail to push. The beds are 

 forced every second year only. The gathering of the Asparagus 

 may continue for about two months, but no longer, or the planta- 

 tion would be injured. When the gathering is over, the frames 

 and linings are taken away, and the soil which has been dug up 

 from the alleys is put back again. 



The preceding note applies to the forcing of the better qualities 

 of Asparagus chiefly. There is a garden at Clichy in which quite 

 a speciality is made of forcing the smaller-sized Asparagus for 

 soups, stews, etc. It contains a number of iron houses, on the 

 same plan as those in the Jardin Pleuriste, already described. 

 There are frames within each house, just as in propagating-houses, 

 and beneath them the Asparagus is forced for the markets, in 

 large quantities. The houses are heated with hot water, and the 

 culture in other respects resembles that practised in forcing- 

 gardens in England— that is, when the plants are taken up to be 



