558 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
CA 
Fig. 8. Asparagus Buncher and Bunch of 
Spears Ready to Be Tied. | 
—Farmers Bulletin 61, 
Cost of an Asparagus Bed 
The cost of establishing and maintain- 
ing an asparagus bed is so dependent 
upon the value of land, the cost of labor, 
the kind and amount of manure used, and 
the method of securing plants, etc., that 
no definite figures can be given, but can 
be best estimated by the farmer himself, 
remembering that it is only once in 15 
or 20 years that this has to be met. 
A prominent and successful New Jer- 
sey grower Says: 
“T cannot give the cost in detail of es- 
tablishing asparagus beds, as so much 
would depend upon whether one had roots 
to buy, and upon other matters. Where 
growers usually grow roots for their own 
planting the cost is principally the labor, 
manure, and loss of use of land for two 
years, upon which, however, a half crop 
can be had. 
“The cost of maintaining a bed I can 
only estimate, as at times all the men on 
the farm may be at work at the aspara- 
gus, and at other times none at all, and 
I do not keep an account of the time put 
in at the asparagus. I should estimate 
the cost per acre as follows: 
1) 
Labor, plowing, cultivation, hoeing, etc. 20 
40 
Total... ccc cece eee ee ce ues $100 
“A bed well established, say five years 
after planting, when well cared for should 
for the next 10 or 15 years yield from 
1,800 to 2,000 bunches per annum, or at 
10 cents per bunch (factory price), $180 
or $200.” 
This agrees very closely with the ae. 
tual figures of the yield and receipts of 
another New Jersey grower who in 189¢ 
cut 22,584 bunches from 12 acres, all of 
which were not in full bearing, or 1,889 
bunches per acre, and received $2,611 net 
returns from commission houses, or a 
fraction over 11 cents per bunch Of 
course those getting higher prices or 
larger yields will exceed this, but it is g 
fair average for those who sell on com- 
mission or to canneries. 
The cost of good one-year-old plants 
ought not to be over $4 per thousand, and 
it requires from 1,800 to 3,600 to fill an 
acre, depending upon the distance between 
plants; perhaps 2,500 would be a fair 
number, allowing surplus plants to fill 
missing hills, or $10 per acre. The plants 
can be grown from the seed for half that 
sum, if that plan be preferred. 
The cost of establishing a bed can be 
somewhat reduced by planting for the 
first two or three years some early gar- 
den crop between the rows, such as pota- 
toes, peas, beets, onions, strawberries, 
etc., for as the roots are as yet not oc- 
cupying all the ground there will be no 
injury to the plants, and the manure and 
cultivation necessary for the young aspar- 
agus will be sufficient for the other crop, 
hence the receipts for it will be almost 
entirely net, and yield at least the re- 
turns of “a half crop.” 
The estimate above calls for an annual 
expenditure of $40 per acre for fertilizer 
and manure, which is a liberal allowance; 
another estimate requires 2,000 pounds 
per acre of a mixture containing 400 
pounds of muriate of potash, 1,100 
pounds acid phosphate, and 500 pounds of 
nitrate of soda, which at market prices 
ean be secured for less than the above 
sum. 
R. B. Hanpy, 
U. S. Dept of Agriculture. 
Asparagus 
‘ (Adapted to Southern Conditions) 
This is one of the best paying crops of 
the garden and can be grown anywhere 
in the temperate regions. Any land that 
will grow corn will grow asparagus but it 
is a crop that responds readily to inten- 
