ASPARAGUS CULTURE, 



The Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) belongs to the Lil.) 

 family, and is a member of a large genus of plants, mostly 

 natives of Africa, distinguished by fine small leaves, which 

 make some of the kinds very graceful and elegant. The 

 common kind is a native of sandy shores all round the basin 

 of the Mediterranean, and grows along those of western 

 Europe, till it reaches the western and south-western shores 

 of England. It also grows on sandy plains in South Europe 

 and North Africa. The flowers, which are small, are 

 greenish-white, borne in twos or threes, and are succeeded 

 by small, round, red berries, and the plant has a very elegant 

 and feathery habit. . , 



SOIL, MANtfKE, ETC. 



Soils, subsoils, and situations differ, and so must practice 

 also. The soil all round our sea-coast, if rich, is eminently 

 suitable for Asparagus ; and once properly planted, it might 

 go on for half a century without any more assistance than 

 it gets from the flooding of each spring tide. Change the 

 scene; place the beds in Sherwood Forest, with 10 to 20 

 feet of drift sand underneath them, and, without the liberal 

 use of the manure cart, in seven years you would not have 

 a piece of Asparagus as thick as a pipe-stem. For good 

 and lasting beds of Asparagus, considerable depth of soil 

 is requisite. The best soil is a rich friable loam ; but good 

 crops may be obtained from any good sandy or mellow loam. 

 Should the texture of the soil be too close, it should he- 

 sufficiently lightened and made porous by the application of 

 large quantities of manure ; sand or sandy mud is, however, 

 more beneficial than manure in its opening qualities for heavy 

 soils. The situation for this vegetable should be open to the 

 sun, yet sheltered from strong winds. As Asparagus is one 

 of the most permanent and important of all garden crops, and 

 well-made beds continue in a good bearing condition for twenty 



