ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



67 



«ggs on the tenderest parts of the Asparagus, which aie 

 speedily attacked by the young larva as soon as it comes out 

 of the egg. These destructive insects will devour a whole 

 plantation in a brief space of time if their ravages are not 

 checked immediately they are perceived. Incessant war must 

 be made against both beetle and larva. If there are only a 

 few they may be crushed between the finger and thumb. They 

 must especially be looked for during bright sunshine, which 

 is the time they generally make their appearance. If they 

 are too many to be destroyed in this way, we must take a 

 bowl or other vessel full of water, and holding it under the 

 Asparagus, tap the stems lightly, so as to shake off the insects 

 into the water. As soon as they feel the blow their instinct 

 teaches them to imitate death and drop off the shoot. When 

 all have been caught the water may be thrown on the 

 ground and the insects crushed to death with the foot; or, 

 what is better still, the cold water should be strained off and 

 boiling water poured on them. The Asparagus beetle lays twice 

 a year — in the spring and in June or J uly. 



The Mole. — The mole does not feed on the Asparagus 

 plant, but it damages the roots by displacing them in forming 

 its subterranean galleries, generally laying the roots bare by 

 lifting them above the soil. The presence of the mole is easily 

 discovered, and as soon as it is perceived, immediate measures 

 for its destruction must be taken. We must either use mole 

 traps, or else watch for its appearance hoe or spade in hand, 

 so as to dig it out the moment it is seen lifting the surface 

 of the soil. 



The White Worm. — The white worm or cockchafer grub 

 is one of the most dangerous enemies with which the gardener 

 has to deaL The warmer the weather the better its appetite. 

 If you see an Asparagus plant beginning to look withered 

 without any known or apparent cause, gently turn up the soil 

 at the foot of the stool, and the chances are that you will find 

 a cockchafer grub feeding on the tenderest parts of the root. 

 There is only one way to destroy it effectually, and that ia 



