834 Cultivation of Asparagus in Evesham, [jan., 



Third Spring. — A light trench is dug between the rows and 

 the soil placed on the plants, but it is important to see that 

 the plants are not too heavily loaded. 



Third Autumn. — The trench is completed, and the plants 

 are fully earthed up. 



B. Second Autumn. — In this method the stalks are cut off 

 and burned when ripe, and fish guano is sown along the line 

 of the cutoff stalks. No particular quantity is used, but it is 

 lightly sown by hand. 



Third Spring. — When the new buds appear they are 

 slightly covered with mould. 



Third Autumn. — A line is drawn between the alleys, and a 

 man digs along this line, putting alternate forkfulls on either 

 side. 



Fourth Spring. — In February-March the beds are forked 

 with a four-pronged fork, in order to get the stones and weeds 

 on the top of the ridge. The stones are then removed by 

 women. After three weeks the beds are moulded up with a 

 hoe, and this operation is continued as long as the beds 

 require hoeing. This cleans the beds and brings the weeds 

 to the top of the bed, where they can be picked off separately. 



The first cutting takes place this year, and is continued, as 

 a rule, till June 26th. Beds which are properly treated, and 

 from which cutting is not continued too late in the year, 

 should certainly last 20 years, and cases are known where 

 they have lasted very much longer than this. 



The further cultivation is fairly simple. The beds are hoed 

 in the summer whenever necessary, and in the late autumn 

 they are dug over, so as to bring them up to the original 

 height which they had lost owing to the washing action of 

 rain. 



Every alternate year soot is given to the amount of about 

 1 ton to the acre. Sometimes fish guano is given in the years 

 when no soot is applied. An alternative to this treatment is 

 to apply soot and lime every autumn. This mixture is 

 probably more useful by reason of its physical properties 

 than its chemical. The lime improves the tilth of the heavy 

 clay land on which the asparagus is grown, and the soot no 

 doubt increases the absorptive power of the soil for heat. 



