ii8 AROUND THE YEAR IN THE GARDEN 



use, with the result that they are not only wasted but also 

 use up the energies of the plant. Cut all stalks as soon as 

 they are large enough. If you stand them in a cool place, 

 with the butt ends in cold water, they will keep plump 

 and fresh for several days. During the cutting season, 

 which usually lasts into June, the bed should be worked 

 over occasionally to keep all weeds out and to preserve a 

 dust mulch. Sometimes a few spears are allowed to grow 

 to serve as traps for the asparagus beetle, which in some 

 sections is very troublesome. 



As soon as the cutting season is over, the balance of the 

 manure and fertilizer should be worked in and the last dress- 

 ing of nitrate of soda should be given. Cutting should 

 always be stopped if the shoots appear to be getting tough. 

 The tops should be cultivated and looked after as carefully 

 as if they were to be eaten, for their function is to store up 

 in the crown material for the next spring's supply of shoots. 

 The asparagus beetle may be controlled by spraying with 

 arsenate of lead. In a well-tended bed asparagus rust is 

 seldom troublesome. If it does appear mow the old bed 

 carefully, after the tops have turned brown but before they 

 become brittle, and burn them carefully. When the plants 

 are given plenty of moisture rust seldom appears. The beds 

 may be mulched or not in the fall, but do not put on fer- 

 tilizer at that time. 



Spring Work in the Berry Patch 



Whether the strawberry patch is a new one set out last 

 month, or one that was set out last year and will come into 

 bearing for the first time this June, or an older bed that you 

 are trying to keep up as long as it will bear satisfactorily, it 

 will need considerable attention if you are to get really good 

 berries. 



The newly set bed should be kept well cultivated, so no 

 weeds will have a chance to get a start. Plenty of moisture 

 is required, so it is important that the soil mulch be kept up. 

 The cultivation may be quite deep at first — three inches or 



