ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



71 



The following are notes from various correspondents concern- 

 ing the seven years* prizes offered for improved Asparagus 

 culture : — 



That many of our notions about Asparagus culture are out 

 of date I have long been convinced, and I am of opinion that 

 all our efforts as respects improvement must lie in the direction 

 so clearly marked out in The Garden, and which should, 

 with thinking men, require no arguments to prove or enforce. 

 If any are dubious about this matter, let them plant half-a- 

 dozen plants 4 ft. apart each way, and watch the result. It is 

 some years now since my eyes were opened to the importance 

 of this by watching the growth of a single Asparagus plant 

 that had sprung up from a chance seed in a shrubbery. 

 Asparagus is a moisture-loving plant, but the site must be 

 well drained ; and I am told, although I have not seen it, that 

 it grows wild in the Lincolnshire fens. I should much like to 

 see the Argenteuil system tried on some of the sewage farms 

 where the soil is of a sandy character. Some of the drier 

 parts of the fens would make an excellent trial ground on a 

 large scale, in connection with other crops of early vegetables 

 that might be cleared off and marketed before the time the 

 Asparagus growth filled all the space, which would be in July. 

 The plough should then be introduced to stir the surface 

 freely, and be followed by frequent soakings of sewage. To 

 have fine produce the stems must be strong and tall, to nurse 

 and develop the future crowns ; and therefore I think it is 

 % during the growing period, after the cutting is finished, that 

 liquid manure, or even water itself, would do so much good. 

 But in a thickly -planted bed, no matter how deep or rich the 

 soil may be, there is not room for the growth to expand 

 sufficiently to develop a thicket of sturdy and vigorous crowns. 

 Bamsey Abbey, Hunts. E. Hobday. 



