ASPABAQUS ODLTUEH 



27 



less it requires a depth of at least 10 in., for the crown of 

 fche root rises every year about | in. It begins to yield at 

 the end of the third year , and from six years old it gives 

 good crops for from fourteen to fifteen years. After this 

 time the heads are somewhat smaller, but the crop is abun- 

 dant. When well cultivated it will continue yielding for from 

 Bighteen to twenty years. 



Dutch Asparagus. — Dutch Asparag us (fig. 3) is nearly 

 always roun d The eves are arranged spiraUv . and are 

 narrow and promine nt. The tip is sometimes conical) at 



o thers elongated, and at times swolle n m 

 th e_midd ier TUe l ieads are from 1-^ in. 

 to 3^ in. in c ircumferen ce, measured at 

 8^ m. from tne up. Fig. 3 shows one 

 of the finest heads of this variety, drawn 

 from nature by M. Godefroy-Leboeuf. 

 The general height o f this Asparagus is 

 about S ft. It isneither so handsome, 

 30 well-flavoured, nor so tender as the 

 two Argenteuil varieties. It also r e- 

 quires a much richer and deepe r soU ; its 

 cultivation m France, therefore, has 

 been given up by the best growers. 

 Among other defects which are laid to 

 its account are the following : it very 

 soon grows hard, it opens its point very 

 rapidly, and turns green in twenty-four 

 hours. This variety fetches but a low 

 price in the Paris markets, where it is 

 sold at 1 franc a bundle, while the Ar- 

 genteuil variety of the same size fetches 

 from three to four times that price. It 

 is not a good plant for cultivating on a 

 large scale, while for amateur growth it ^- s.— Dntoh Asparagni 

 is unsuitable on account of its small 

 yield and its bitter flavour. It should only, therefore, as a 

 role, be grown where other sorts cannot be obtained. It has 



