ASPABAGUS CULTURE. 



41 



Manures and How to Use them.— By adopting the 

 method of culture described above, we need only use a com- 

 paratively small amount of manure, hardly double the quan- 

 tity of that employed for root crops — Potatoes, for instance. 

 All manures are apparently good for Asparagus ; there are, 

 however, certain precautions to be taken in using them. For 

 instance, farm-yard manure should not be employed in too 

 fresh a condition, as it would affect the roots and certainly 

 spoil the crop for two or three years. We must also beware 

 of employing other manures of too active a nature, such as 

 lime, sheep's, asses', or mules' manure in too large doses. We 

 may obtain excellent results on certain soils by using a double 

 dressing composed of one-half stable manure and one-half dried 

 blood, guano, burnt seaweed, &e., but it must be tried on a 

 small scale before applying it to the whole plantation. The 

 ingredients are not to be mixed together, but applied separately, 

 the blood, guano, or seaweed being used first. A good deal 

 has been said about the use of common salt in Asparagus 

 culture ; but we have tried it several times without being able 

 to come to any exact opinion on the subject. We should 

 consequently advise Asparagus growers to make a trial of it 

 on a small scale before applying it to the whole of their beds, 

 in order not to run the risk of accident. There are two 

 methods of applying manures — the first by placing them in the 

 trenches ; the second by distributing them over the mounds. 

 The following is the general mode of procedure : We must 

 always be careful to manure either before or at the begin- 

 ning of the winter, in order that the rains may have time to 

 dissolve the more soluble portions and carry them down to 

 the roots. If we defer the application of the manure until 

 spring, the good effects of it will scarcely be apparent, or it 

 will not be perceived until a year has elapsed, When we 

 adopt the system of dressing the trenches, we begin by taking 

 off the top of the small mounds, and, this being done, we 

 spread the manure throughout the whole length and breadth 

 of the trench, taking care to keep the stools free from it, 

 and more especially the spots from which the young heads 



