ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 31 



breaking off the fruit-bearing shoots or by destroying the seeds, 

 so that they should only be recognised by those in the secret. 

 If it is a difficult matter to obtain good seed plants in places 

 where Asparagus growing is carried on on a large scale, it will 

 be readily understood that it is almost impossible to find them 

 in small gardens where the cultivation of Asparagus is almost 

 unknown. How then are we to recognise a good plant 1 No- 

 thing is easier to those who have seen it grow, or more difficult 

 for those who have only seen it as a stool at the moment of 

 planting. In making a choice, we must be certain of the 

 seed in the first place, and ascertain that it comes from a good 

 variety, after which we destroy all those young plants which 

 show any signs of departing from the type which we are 

 desirous of growing. This is an art which can only be 

 practised with success by those who are thoroughly acquainted 

 with rearing Asparagus. The wisest course to pursue, there- 

 fore, when about to commence an Asparagus bed is to go to 

 some well-known firm with a reputation to lose, and to place 

 full confidence in it for the choice of seeds and plants. 

 Even when we have a thoroughly good plant in cultivation 

 we must know how to gather the seed at the proper time and 

 in the proper manner. In addition to this all of the seed 

 even from the best plants is not equally good. The seed, for 

 instance, which has been gathered from a stool which has 

 flowered side by side with a bad or medium kind, and at the 

 same time, is worth nothing, because it has been fertilised 

 badly. Again, the seed should be perfectly ripe, and it 

 must be kept properly after it has been gathered. The 

 last heads generally yield nothing but doubtful seed, which 

 seldom reproduces the proper type. The seeds which grow 

 at the end of the shoots also, as well as those produced by the 

 upper and lower extremities of the stem, have the same 

 defect. Those seeds, too, which are not sufficiently ripe or 

 which are too small are sure to produce bad plants. Seed 

 should be only collected from those plants which have reached 

 the age of from seven to ten years and which carry but few 

 seed-vessels. The seed-bearing stems also yield bad seed* 



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