By Mr. Jacob Baumann. 



3;3;> 



Note by the Secretary. 



The following notes relative to the cultivation of Asparagus 

 at Vienna, were communicated to the Society by Dr. Forbes, 

 shortly before Mr. Baumann's Paper was received ; as they 

 appear to contain some additional information on the subject, 

 they are now given. 



" To raise a bed of Asparagus which should last from 

 twenty to twenty-five years, and produce thick and white 

 stalks fit for use, particular care should be taken to choose 

 a warm situation, in order to have it sheltered against the 

 north-east winds. The bed should be four feet in breadth, 

 and the earth ought to be dug out four feet. To till up this 

 cavity, the first layer ought to be one foot thick, consisting of 

 dung, horn chips, wood chips, bones of cattle, ox horns, 

 and decayed and withered branches of shrubs or trees, the 

 whole of which must be covered with a layer of the same 

 thickness of the mould that has been dug out. Cover this 

 afterwards with cow-dung mixed with the mud of a river or 

 pond, let this be half a foot thick : then make another layer 

 of mould of the same thickness, and go on in this way alter- 

 nately with the mixed manure and mould, till the whole 

 space is filled up. 



" The bed ought to be made in the autumn, that the ground 

 may have full time to settle. In the spring, before the seeds 

 are sown, all the layers, except the ground layer of horns, 

 &c. must be turned over and mixed together ; then levelled 

 with a rake, and the bed divided with a line, into three parts 

 of the same width, on these lines the seed must be sown in 

 holes of a foot deep, at a distance of two and a half feet apart, 



vol. v. X x 



