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BETTER FRUIT 



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Asparagus is a perennial plant and 

 should be planted in the garden at one 

 side, where it will not interfere with gen- 

 eral cultivation. Every fruit grower's 

 garden should have its asparagus bed. 

 It is one of the earliest plants in spring; 

 a very heavy producer and responds 

 readily to fertilization, warmth and sun- 

 shine. While asparagus prefers the 

 lighter, loamy soils, it will do well in 

 almost any part of the country where 

 gardening can be conducted. When once 

 established an asparagus bed is good 

 from fourteen to twenty years. It is, 

 therefore, important that the initial prep- 

 aration of the bed be thorough. Strong 

 two-year-old roots can be secured from 

 almost any reliable seedsman. These 

 roots may be set either in fall or early 

 spring, according to local conditions and 

 circumstances on the farm. When pre- 

 paring the bed furrow out the rows from 

 six to eight inches deep, four to five feet 

 apart, and set the plants in the bottom 

 of the furrow fifteen inches apart. Cover 

 firmly with soil. A liberal supply of well 

 rotted manure should be used in prepar- 

 ing the bed, and may also be used as a 

 top dressing. If the plants are set in the 

 fall there should be considerable cutting 

 the following spring. The young tender 

 shoots should be cut from two to three 

 inches under the soil. Do not injure the 

 crown of the plant. The cutting season 

 should last from one to two months. 

 During this period all shoots should be 

 removed. Cutting should cease when the 

 plants become tough and stringy. Culti- 

 vation should then be given during the 

 remainder of the season in order to 

 secure a strong development of the 

 plants which will insure a heavy crop for 

 the following year. Cut and burn the 

 tops when they begin to die. It is gen- 

 erally found advisable to give the bed a 

 good top dressing of manure at this time, 

 which may be forked in early the follow- 

 ing spring. Keep the bed clean at all 

 times. Varieties: Conover's Colossal, 

 Barr Mammoth and Columbian Mam- 

 moth White, Burpee. 



With the exception of the Limas, most 

 all beans do well where vegetables can 

 be grown. Beans should be planted on 

 warm, rich, deep, moist soil as soon as 

 danger of frost in spring is over. By 



successive plantings a continuous supply 

 may be secured from early summer to 

 late fall. Later plantings of beans may 

 be made in the garden in the space occu- 

 pied previously by such plants as radish, 

 lettuce, beets, etc. Beans are less stringy, 

 and consequently more tender when 

 grown rapidly in a favorable spot. It is, 

 therefore, important that they be given 

 the best possible conditions. Beans 

 should be planted in rows to permit 

 horse cultivation. The gardener will 

 have no difficulty in making a satisfac- 

 tory choice of varieties, as most seed 

 houses carry a large assortment. Varie- 

 ties: Improved Prolific Black Wax, 

 Thorburn; Extra Early Refugee, Bis- 

 marck Black Wax Prolific, Dwarf Horti- 

 cultural, Stringless Green Pod, Burpee; 

 Early Warwick, Henderson. 



The garden beet gives best results in 

 deep, cool, loamy soils. Seeds may be 

 sown as early as the ground 

 can be worked. They are 

 sown in drills and thinned to 

 five inches in a row. In the 

 fruit grower's garden they 

 should be sown in rows suffi- 

 ciently far apart to admit of 

 horse cultivation. They can 

 be secured any time during 

 the year, according to the 

 way they are handled. Beets 

 for table use should be of 

 medium size, tender, sweet 

 and fine in texture. They 

 should be grown rapidly to 

 secure the desirable qualities. 

 The large, poorly grown spe- 

 cimens are not good for table 

 use. In fact, the extra large 

 specimens of most all vegeta- 

 bles are not as desirable as 

 the medium, quickly grown 

 ones. Beets can easily be 

 held for winter use in the 

 average cellar. Beets make a 

 fine crop for successive plant- 

 ing. They can be sown as a 

 companion or succession crop 

 only where the climate is 

 warm enough to grow more 

 than one crop during the sea- 

 son. Beets planted thickly in 

 the row can be thinned out 

 for use as greens before any 



damage is done. The long varieties arc 

 the best adapted for winter use, and the 

 round varieties for early use. Varieties: 

 Eclipse, Edmund Blood Turnip, Thor- 

 burn; Crosby's Egyptian. Blood Red, 

 Burpee; Dreer Excelsior, Dreer. 



Brussels sprouts deserve more atten- 

 tion than it usually receives in most gar- 

 dens throughout the country. The little 

 sprouts borne in great profusion in the 

 axils of the leaves are a great delicacy 

 and represent a choice dish of the cab- 

 bage family. They are cooked similar to 

 cabbage. They are very hardy and may be 

 left out until freezing weather begins. 

 Light freezing does not injure this plant, 

 and it is thought by many that freezing 

 improves it. The plants may be started 

 in the hotbed and handled similar to cab- 

 bage. There are many varieties of Brus- 

 sels sprouts, but one will have no diffi- 

 culty in securing a satisfactory variety, 

 as most all of them are desirable. Varie- 

 ties: Scrymger Giant, Farquhar; Long 

 Island Improved, Burpee. 



Cabbage can be started under glass or 

 in a hotbed about the first of February 

 and transplanted to the garden for early 

 cabbage. They should be transplanted 

 when the seedlings show the third leaf. 

 Grow them rapidly, harden ofif and trans- 

 plant to the open ground as soon as 

 weather permits in spring. Nothing but 

 strong, stocky, well grown plants should 

 be set. Most members of the cabbage 

 family are easily handled. Cabbage 

 should be set on a rich and moist section 

 of the garden. It delights in a cool, deep, 

 moist soil. Give cabbage plenty of room 

 by putting the rows four feet apart, and 

 one and a half to two feet in the row. 

 The early varieties require less space 

 than the late flat types. The early crop 



[•"IGURE 5 



tkoto by L. C. i lucent 

 SALSIFY, VALUELESS WHEN ROOTS ARE 

 BUNCHED LIKE THIS 



