CHAPTER XVI. 
ASPARAGUS. 
When it is known that the first 
home-grown asparagus in the Phila- 
delphia market sometimes brings $1 
per bunch, and that the demand for 
this succulent vegetable is in no dan- 
ger of falling off, it is easy to under- 
stand why the near-by truckers indulge 
in a friendly rivalry in their efforts to 
be first in the market. 
The earliest bunches command 
the highest prices, though for the 
3 matter of that the quotations for aspar- 
agus in the Philadelphia market are generally satisfactory to 
the producers all through the spring season, as was the case 
in 1896. 
Asparagus can be forced in several ways. The large 
roots can be taken from the outside beds in the fall, stored in 
sand, and carried into the forcing house at any time during 
the winter. This plan is a wasteful one, as usually man- 
aged, and is advisable only under the special circumstances 
of an extra good market or as a way of getting rid of an old 
bed. 
The roots thus treated are sacrificed, as they do not live 
long after the violent handling which the plan necessitates ; 
or, if they live, they have but little vigor. 
A better way is one which is practiced by the Philadel- 
phia gardeners, and which may be termed a money-produc- 
ing method. It is to place sashes over undisturbed roots, in 
the open ground. 
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