ASPARAGUS 461 
The culture of the leading vegetables. 
Having now obtained a view of the layout of the vegetable- 
garden and a good conception of the leading cultural groups, 
we may proceed with a discussion of the different kinds of 
vegetables themselves. Good experience is better than book 
advice; but the person who consults a book is the one who 
lacks experience. Any printed directions are necessarily im- 
perfect, and they may not be adaptable to the particular con- 
ditions under which the amateur works; but they ought to set 
him in the right direction so that he may more easily find his 
way. Seedsmen’s catalogues often contain much useful and 
reliable advice of this kind. 
Asparagus. — The best of all early spring vegetables; a hardy her- 
baceous perennial, grown for the soft edible shoots that spring from 
the crown. 
The culture of asparagus has been simplified in the past few years, 
and at present the knowledge required successfully to plant and grow 
a good supply need not be that of a professional. The old method of 
excavating to the depth of 3 feet or more, throwing in from 4 to 6 inches 
of broken stone or bricks for drainage, then filling to within 16 to 18 
inches of the surface with well-rotted manure, with 6 inches of soil 
upon which to set the roots, has given place to the simple practice 
of plowing or digging a trench from 14 to 16 inches deep, spreading 
well-rotted manure in the bottom to the depth of 3 or 4 inches; when 
well trodden down covering the manure with 3 or 4 inches of good gar- 
den soil, then setting the plants, with the roots well spread out, cover- 
ing carefully with soil to the level of the garden, and firming the soil 
with the feet. This will leave the crowns of the plants from 4 to 
5 inches below the surface. 
In stubborn, heavy soil the best method to pursue in making a 
permanent bed is to throw out all the dirt from the trench and replace 
with good, fibrous loam. 
In setting, 1-year-old plants will prove more satisfactory than 
older ones, being less liable to suffer from injury to the root system than 
those that have made a larger growth. Two years after setting the 
