Asparagus 1473 



provement that Pliny was able to record spears of it weighing 

 three to the pound. 



Once made familiar with the use of the native article by the 

 invading Roman soldiery, the Gauls, Germans and Britons ap- 

 preciated its value, and it soon became one of their most prized 

 vegetables. Early writers on horticultural subjects leave no room 

 for doubt that as early as the first part of the sixteenth century — 

 four hundred years ago — the use of asparagus was not only gen- 

 eral in nearly every part of Europe, but that in some parts its 

 development was such as to put the so-called " colossal " and 

 " mammoth " of the present day upon their mettle, since spears 

 weighing over one-half pound each were not of uncommon 

 occurrence. 



In France, Holland, Germany, Hungary and England, aspara- 

 gus was both gathered by the peasantry in its wild state and car- 

 ried to the towns for the tables of the prosperous burghers and 

 grown in the landlord's gardens for his own table. 



The early settlers of America, familiar with its use, brought the 

 seed of the plant with them, and, though not native to this coun- 

 try, it found the climate congenial. 



Although a " cosmopolitan " there are localities where its skil- 

 ful culture has produced such results, both as to size of spears and 

 average yield, that they are noted the world over as asparagus 

 growing centers. Many of the states of the eastern coast from 

 Charleston, S. C, to Boston, Mass., of the Mississippi Valley, 

 and of the Pacific. Slope, produce a great amount of asparagus, 

 but it is on Long Island and New Jersey that much attention has 

 been given to its cultivation, and there its culture has reached a 

 high state of development. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



The genus asparagus belongs to the Lily-of-the- Valley family. 

 It includes about 100 species, all native of the Old World. A few 

 species, including the familiar asparagus vine and the smilax of 

 the florist, are in common cultivation for ornamental purposes, 

 but most of them, having no recognized economic value, are 

 known only to botanists. 



All the various forms and varieties of the vegetable now in 



