so 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



you will soon become convinced that the different sorts cannot 

 be mistaken for each other, neither as to earliness, quality, 

 form, vigour, or general appearance. It is not sufficient 

 to find out the localities which are celebrated for the 

 best growths of Asparagus, but we must also find 

 out whether they are grown by A or by B, and 

 even then we may be at a loss, for in one plot B may grow a 

 crop which leaves nothing to be desired, while the crop in the 

 very next plot may be worthless. In using the terms variety 

 and sub-variety we do not intend them to be understood in the 

 strict botanical sense ; they must therefore be looked upon 

 as cultural expressions, that is to say, that these varieties are 

 capable of returning to their original type if they are neglected 

 or badly cultivated. Nothing, therefore, is so difficult as to 

 procure varieties not merely of good quality, but of exceptional 

 quality. The choice of plants is therefore a matter of great 

 importance in growing Asparagus ; so important is it, in fact, 

 that we should reject all stools offered at a cheap rate, and 

 always pay a fair sum for them, as long as we are sure of ob- 

 taining a good variety. What possible good can there be in 

 exercising economy in purchasing cheap stools which will only 

 yield one-half or one-third of the crop obtainable from the 

 best varieties for a few extra pence? In those localities which 

 are most renowned for Asparagus — at Argenteuil, for instance — 

 the growers attach the greatest importance to having good 

 varieties, and they not only choose them from amongst their 

 own plants, but from amongst those of their neighbours, so 

 much so that a grower who has cultivated a number of seed- 

 bearing plants with the greatest care suddenly finds himself 

 deprived of them just as the time comes for gathering the 

 seed. It has also happened that the stools were destroyed by 

 those who stole the seed, so that the proper owner of them 

 was no longer able to procure a supply at will. This trait in 

 the character of Asparagus growers will show how much im- 

 portance they attach to the choice of good varieties. Sharp 

 growers, consequently, who have succeeded in producing rare 

 sub-varieties, prevent them from becoming multiplied either by 



