ASPARAGUS. 207 
in rows from three to four feet asunder, a method which, 
in every way, is found to be most convenient. Except 
where the garden is new, when, of course, it is advantage- 
ous to procure a supply of ready-grown plants, it is thought 
preferable to keep up the stock of asparagus by sowing. 
The sowing is made in. March, in slight drills; and, as 
a portion of the seed often fails to germinate, itis a good 
precaution to employ about double the quantity of seed 
that may be ultimately necessary. If the plants come up 
too thickly, they may be thinned out. towards the end of the 
first summer, to the distance of about six inches in the 
rows. The ground is hoed and kept clear of weeds. It is 
a common practice in England to take slight crops of 
onions, lettuce, cauliflower, or turnip, between the lines of 
asparagus during the first, and, if the rows be wide, also 
in the second year. The young heads or stalks, the part 
used, should not be cut before the third spring, and they 
are not in perfection till the fourth or fifth. 
The asparagus quarter can scarcely be over-manured. 
The proper time to perform this operation is in the end of 
autumn, when the annual flower-stalks are removed, pre- 
paratory for winter. When beds are employed, their sur- 
face should be stirred with a fork; a layer of well-rotted 
hotbed dung is then laid on, and the whole covered with a 
sprinkling of earth from the alleys.: If the plants are 
grown in rows, the manure is simply dug in by means of a 
three-pronged fork, care being taken not to injure the roots. 
This operation is repeated annually, and no other culture 
is required. It is necessary to observe a due moderation 
in reaping the crop, as the shoots, when much cut, become 
progressively smaller and less valuable. Hence it is a 
goneral rule with gardeners never to gather asparagus after 
peas have begun to come inte season. Thus managed, a 
