48 ASPAEAGU8. 



cold water, and then covering them, they may be 

 kept four or five days, and when taken out they will 

 look as fresh as if .just cut. Or if, when cut, before 

 bunching, the spears are thrown on the cellar-floor, 

 and, when bunched, placed in cold water for a few 

 hours, each spear will swell out and look fresh. The 

 box on the front of the machine is intended for keep- 

 ing a knife, strings, &c., &c. By winding the string 

 around the box, when the string is cut in one place 

 it will be the right length for tying the bunch. 



A few years ago white Asparagus was in demand 

 but lately there has been little call for it. However, 

 any one can have white Asparagus by keeping the 

 light away from it while growing. This can be most 

 cheaply done by covering the bed thickly, about the 

 Ist of April, with a coating of salt hay or long ma- 

 nure, eight or ten inches deep. 



Before cutting the Asparagus the litter is moved 

 one side and then replaced. 



PROFITS. 



The annual returns from an acre of Asparagus 

 depend so much on the character of the soil and the 

 treatment it receives that it is difficult to state the 

 exact amount. Some growers, favorably located, 

 make from six to seven himdred dollars a year profit. 

 This is much more than is realized by most growers. 

 Taking one year with another, a well-kept Asparagus- 

 bed will yield four hundred and fifty dollars per 

 acre profit. 



Since the close of the late war large plantations 

 of Asparagus have been made in certain localities of 



