8 



ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 



No. 8, growth mediocre; shoots very irregular, some roots 

 having eight or ten, but all feeble ; another plant died after 

 having produced two stems. 



" Third Year. — No. 1, growth magnificent : stems measuring 

 on the 10th of May from 2 inches to 3 \ inches in circumference. 

 No. 2, growth passable, but irregular ; some tufts small and 

 weak ; the finest had shoots on the 10th of May, not more than 

 2 J inches in circumference. No. 3, growth very middling and 

 irregular ; some tufts gave off shoots no bigger than quills, 

 and the best reached little beyond 1^ inch in circumference. 



" Fourth Year. — No. 1, growth remarkable ; the shoots 

 appeared from the 3rd to the 10th of April, some as much as 

 4 inches in circumference ; they afforded fifty shoots, which 

 formed a bunch weighing more than 6J- lbs. No. 2, growth 

 passable, but a little later than that of No. 1, and with plenty 

 of small shoots ; fifty made a half bunch, weighing little more 

 than the half of that cut from No 1. No. 3, vegetation poor, 

 one plant not starting till the 22nd of April; fifty shoots 

 formed only half a bunch, and did not weigh more than 2 \ lbs. 



" To resume, it will have been seen that the plantation formed 

 with plants a year old gave at its fourth starting, or at 

 the end of three years of plantation, a bunch of Asparagus 

 twice as large as that of either of the others. In other terms, 

 the plantation made with plants a year old produced double 

 that of the one where two-year-old plants were used, and 

 nearly treble that made with plants of three years old." 



CUTTING. 



Asparagus should not be cut till the second year after 

 planting, and then only sparingly. By allowing the plants to 

 get well and firmly established before making a very free use of 

 the knife, and with judicious after-treatment, they will produce 

 excellent crops for many years ; and at no time cut too severely, 

 but bear in mind that the more copious and healthy the foliage 

 during the summer, the stronger will be the produce next 

 spring. As the strength of the roots depends on the quantity 

 of foliage, there must be shoots enough left to maintain them 

 healthy and vigorous, and to replace and store up for the 

 following season sufficient matter for the healthy action of the 

 plants. It is not advisable, however, to cut away the strong 

 shoots and leave the smaller ones ; quite the reverse. Allow 

 some of the finest shoots to grow after the first fortnight or 

 three weeks' cutting is over, removing any small spray that may 



