KITCHEN-GARDEN 
a result the shoots come up very thickly. The 
plants are strong ones, three years old; as 
many as five crops of roots follow each other 
throughout the autumn, winter, and spring in 
the same frame. ‘The universal straw mat is 
used to cover the frames at night.” 
The old mode of forcing Asparagus, still 
practised to some extent, chiefly consists in 
digging deep trenches between beds planted for 
the purpose, covering the beds with the soil and 
with frames, filling in the trenches between the 
frames with stable-manure, and protecting the 
frames with straw mats and litter to keep in 
the heat. In the beginning of November the 
pathways between the beds of Asparagus are 
dug up about 2 feet in depth and width. The 
soil coming from the pathway is divided very 
carefully, and put about 8 inches thick upon the 
surface of the bed. The trench is filled up with 
new stable-manure, not litter, and frames placed 
on the bed. The manure should rise as high 
as the top of the frames, and the lights be 
entirely covered with mats and litter to pre- 
vent the accumulated heat from escaping. The 
sashes are put on, and no air is given; on the 
contrary, they are covered at night with straw 
mats, and also during the day in cold weather, 
a temperature of from 60° to 75° being con- 
sidered desirable. We should, however, prefer 
starting with a temperature of between 50° and 
60°, as is done by means of hot-water pipes 
in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore. The heat 
may be increased so as to range between 60° 
and 65°, or not exceeding 70°; for it is found 
that when Asparagus is forced too rapidly it 
is not so good as when it is brought forward 
gradually, with a temperature resembling that 
of a very fine May. Where glass is used, a 
good deal of sun-heat may be economized by 
keeping the sashes closed till the shoots appear. 
In the open air the finest and most tender 
shoots are produced in beds that have been 
exposed to powerful sun-heat. © 
In about a fortnight or three weeks the As- 
paragus begins to show itself on the surface 
of the bed. Many market- gardeners cover 
the whole of the bed inside the frame to a 
thickness of 3 or 4 inches with manure to 
force the vegetation more quickly, but in this 
case the manure must be removed when the 
Asparagus begins to shoot. When the shoots 
are about 3 inches out of the ground they may 
be cut. The mats must be taken off in the day- 
time, but the heat must be well kept up, or the 
roots and buds will fail to push. The beds are 
forced every second year only. The gathering 
VEGETABLES. 401 
of the Asparagus may continue for about two 
months, but no longer, or the plantation would 
be injured. When the gathering is over, the 
frames and linings may be taken away, and the 
soil which has been dug up from the alleys put 
back again. 
When the trenches are partially filled up after 
forcing is over, and the dung turned out, the 
roots strike into the decaying substances usually 
employed, so that when the beds are again about 
to be forced, these roots are destroyed in clearing 
out the trenches for the reception of the dung, 
and they are generally the most vigorous. This 
proceeding, in fact, deprives the plant of its most 
efficient feeders at the time they are most wanted. 
It is better to keep the trenches open, so as not 
to encourage the roots in that direction. In this 
case it would be well to cover over the trenches, 
in order to prevent the soil of the beds from 
being dried. In some instances the sides of beds 
intended to be forced by dung-heat have been 
faced with bricks in the pigeon-hole fashion, and 
where the expense can be afforded, this plan 
answers very well. 
In some places it is difficult to procure dung 
for the purpose of forcing, and in any case it is 
doubtful whether heating by hot water is not 
cheaper in the end. The labour required for 
working dung linings is very considerable, and 
would go far towards defraying the expense of 
fuel. Atall events the hot-water mode answers 
well where it has been adopted, as, for example, 
in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore. The beds 
there are 75 feet long and 7 feet wide; their 
sides are formed with pigeon-hole brickwork, 
and the spaces between the beds are 4 feet deep; 
but the lower half is filled with rich soil, and in 
the upper half there are a flow and a return pipe 
for hot water, connected with a boiler which 
heats six ranges of flow and return pipes. The 
cavities for the pipes are covered with York- 
shire stone, and the beds themselves with a 
close-fitting wooden roof. Some think 7 feet 
too great a width for the beds; we should re- 
commend 6 feet; and where such substantial 
covering as Yorkshire stone cannot be afforded, 
wooden covers will answer the purpose. At 
Frogmore forcing is usually commenced in 
December, and a supply obtained in about a 
month. A little air and light, when the shoots 
begin to reach the surface, much improve their 
flavour and appearance. In every case avoid 
forcing every growth out of the crowns, as it 
is Important that the plants should grow as 
strongly during the summer as those not forced 
Do not wholly withdraw all the protective 
