ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



The Asparagus f Asparagus officinalis) belongs to the L flj 

 f amily , and is a naember ol' a liU'gtJ genus oi plants, UlOHlij 

 natives of Afric a, distinguished by fi ne small leave s, which 

 make some of the kinds very graceful and elegant. The 

 common kind is a native of sandy shores all round the basin 

 of the Mediterranea n, and grows along those of western 

 Europe, till it reaches the western and south-western shores 

 of England. It also grows on sandy plains in South Europe 

 and North Africa. The flpwer s, which are small , are 

 greenish-white, borne in twos or threes, and are Succeed ed 

 by small, roung, red bemes , and the p lant has a very elega nt 

 ana te atnery naoit. 



son,, MANimB, ETC. 



Soils, subsoils, and situations differ, and so must practice 

 also. The soil all round our sea-coast, if rich, is eminently 

 suitable for Asparagus ; and once properly planted, it might 

 go on for half a century without any more assistance than 

 it gets from the flooding of each spring tide. Change the 

 scene; place the beds in Sherwood Forest, with 10 to 20 

 feet of drift sand underneath them, and, without the liberal 

 use of the manure cart, in seven years you would not have 

 a piece of Asparagus as thick as a pipe-stem. For good 

 and lasting beds of Asparagus, considerable depth of soil 

 is requisite. The best s oil is a rich friable loa m ; but. good 

 c rops may be obtf i'ifi'^"*'''"^ ""f ff^ oti sandy 5r" mellow loam - 

 Should the texture of the soil be too close, it should he- 

 sufficiently lightened and made porous by the application of 

 large quantities of manure ; sand or sandy mud is, however, 

 more beneficial than manure in its opening qualities for heavy 

 soils. The s ituation for this vegetable shoi^d be open to th e 

 sun, yet sheltered from strong wina s. As Asparagus is one 

 of the most permanent ana imperial of all garden crops, and 

 well-made beds continue in a good bearing condition for twenty 



