120 



VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



and is at once cultivated into the soil. Sometimes such treat- 

 ment will keep the sprouts from starting for a week or more 

 at a season when it is most relished and the market price is 

 the highest. On this account it is an excellent plan to manure 

 asparagus in June at the close of the cutting season, as it can 

 then be thoroughly cultivated into the soil and does not inter- 

 fere in any way with the growth of the plants in the spring. 

 Asparagus is a rank feeder and needs lots of manure for the 

 best results. Salt may be applied to asparagus to such an 

 extent as to kill all the weeds without injuring the plants and 

 yet careful experiments seem to show that salt is of no special 

 value as a manure for this crop. 



Asparagus seed is readily taken from the fruit in which it 

 grows by macerating the fruit in water and then drying it. 



Forcing Asparagus for early use is being done to some ex- 

 tent near large cities where it is often a profitable undertak- 

 ing. For this purpose the roots must be dug in the fall and 

 carefully stored in earth in a cellar. In March, make a good, 

 slow hotbed and put the roots in it in good soil. It is im- 

 portant to start the roots slowly or the shoots will be spind- 

 ling and weak. The roots stored as recommended may also 

 be forced into growth in a warm cellar, shed, greenhousee, or a 

 part of a permanent bed may be enclosed in glass or cotton 

 sheeting. 



Varieties. — There are a number of varieties, and they are 

 all desirable when given good cultivation. Among the best 

 kinds are Conover's Colossal, Moore's and Palmetto. 



ONIONS. (Allium Cepa.) 

 Native of Central or Western Asia. — Biennial, sometimes 

 perennial. The original home of the onion is not known. It 

 has no true stem, but this is represented by the base of the 

 bulb. The form, color and shape of onions vary greatly in dif- 

 ferent varieties. The free portion of the leaves is elongated 

 and swollen in the lower part. The flowers, which are white 

 or Iliac in color, are borne in dense, round heads on long, slen- 

 der, hollow stalks; sometimes, instead of flowers, a head of 

 small bulbs is produced and no seed at all. This may occur oc- 

 casionally in all kinds, but is the almost invariable characteris- 



