ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



65 



will take a much longer time in making their appearance. In 

 the latter case we must redouble the precautions we have 

 taken to keep in the heat, heaping on stable manure with a 

 lavish hand, stopping up every nook and cranny in the frames 

 and preventing the snow from melting on them. By this 

 means we obtain perfectly white heads, but if we wish to have 

 them tinged with pink we must take off the straw mats when- 

 ever the sun is warm and clear, and we shall find that they 

 will be rapidly coloured by the action of the light. The heads 

 should be cut every other day, and the cutting may be kept 

 up for a couple of months. The following winter, the manure 

 surrounding the frames and in the trenches is taken away, 

 and the plantation is allowed to rest quiet until 'the second 

 winter, when the same operations may be gone through. We 

 may thus continue to force every other winter until the 

 quality and quantity of the Asparagus show signs of lower- 

 ing. In the spring which follows the winter during which 

 the forcing has taken place, we must, of course, refrain from 

 gathering, otherwise we shall endanger the future safety of 

 the beds. Forcing every other winter is as much as the 

 plants will bear. In order to be able to force every winter, 

 we should have two or four plantations, one or two of which 

 should be used for the purpose turn-and-turn-about. As each 

 bed ought only to be used for two months, a quadruple set is 

 advisable, so that we may be kept supplied during November, 

 December, January, and February. 



Forcing in Heat.— The Asparagus grown in heat is 

 known as green Asparagus, and is eaten with white sauce or 

 as a garnishing with green Peas. This method of forcing is 

 carried on from the month of November until the month of 

 March. Each bed only yields for a month. A hotbed is 

 made in the usual way and is covered with 2i in. or 3J in. of 

 rotten manure, after which the frame and lights are placed in 

 position. When it has cooled down sufficiently, that is to 

 say, in about eight or nine days, the stools are planted. The 

 plants chosen for forcing ought to be three years old, well 

 -grown, and provided with a full allowance of roots. The 



