48 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



right piece fixed parallel to it, and provided with a U-shaped: 

 hole. This upright piece slides backwards and forwards in a 

 groove and may be fixed at any distance from the first upright 

 piece by means of a thumb-screw. One of the sides of 

 the U is hinged, so as to allow the workman to remove the 

 bundle. The workman sits in front of the bundling bench, 

 and turning it with the hole away from him and the U nearest 

 to him, he chooses the best heads of Asparagus from a heap 

 by his side, and places them in the U, allowing their tips to rest 

 lightly in the stopped hole. If the Asparagus is flat he 

 places it in such a way that the largest part is on the outside of 

 the bundle. The medium-sized and smaller heads are placed 

 in the centre. The heads are so adjusted in the hole that they 

 are quite level. When the bundle is large enough a strip 

 of Willow is passed round it about 4 in. from the top, and 

 firmly tied, but, of course, without bruising the heads. 

 Another strip of Willow is tied round the bundle about 4 in. 

 from the lower end. Any of the heads whose lower extremi- 

 ties project too far beyond the bottom of the bundle are cut 

 off level, and the operation is finished. Crooked heads 

 may, with care and gentleness, be bent perfectly straight. If 

 they break during the operation the two pieces may be united 

 by inserting a sliver of wood into one of the broken ends and 

 then sticking it into the other. When the whole of the 

 gathering has been made up into bundles, they are placed 

 upright in tubs or tanks of water, which must completely 

 cover them. They are left in this condition for several hours 

 and are then washed with a long-haired brush, which is passed 

 gently over them backwards and forwards. They are then 

 drained for ten minutes or so and are ready to be sent to 

 market. 



Packing" and Carriage.— Asparagus is sent to market in 

 large, strongly-made baskets, which contain twenty or thirty 

 bundles and even more. The bottom of the basket is lined 

 with hay or straw as well as the sides, after which the Aspara- 

 gus bundles are put in rows and pressed together sideways 

 pretty firmly, so that they cannot shake about. A layer of 



