ASPARAGUS. 



151 



and protecting tliem when planted with a covering of ma- 

 nure overspread with litter ; but the best time to transplant 

 is when the plants begin to grow early in the spring, for if 

 they remain torpid during two or three months, some of 

 them will die, and all will be weakened. 



As it should be a matter of pride to have this delicacy 

 as early as possible, choose a site where the bed can be 

 fully exposed to the sun. If you wish to prolong its season, 

 another bed may be planted on a northern exposai e. The 

 subsoil should be dry, and if not naturally so, must be well 

 drained. It must be dug up thoroughly at least two and 

 a-half feet deep, the poor soil removed, and its place sup- 

 plied with rich light loam. On a plot of four square rods, 

 sow from seventy -five to a hundred pounds of fine salt, 

 and dig it in four or five inches deep. Asparagus is a sea- 

 shore plant, and salt will not hurt it ; but is life and nour- 

 ishment to it. Bury your manure and mix it well through- 

 out the whole depth, as you can hardly make the ground 

 too rich. Asparagus will grow, it is true, without all this 

 trouble, but the size, sweetness and tenderness of tlie 

 shoots, will pay for doing the work in the best manner. 



After taking out the soil the bottom should be covered 

 with at least six inches of well-rotted manure, as this c^m 

 never be reached after the roots are once planted. Inter- 

 mix nearly as much more throughout the bed, except the 

 top four or five inches, as the manure should not come in 

 contact with the fresh roots. So manured and deeply dug, 

 the plants will send down their roots too deeply to fear a 

 drought. 



Make the beds four and a half feet wide, and the paths 

 two feet in width between the beds. 



The plants should be carefully taken up without injury, 

 choosing a mild cloudy day, but the ground must not be 

 wet. A narrow dungfork is a good instrument for th.o 



