191 1.] Commercial Asparagus Cultivation. • 555 



feared from early spring frosts where sowings are made in 

 February or the beginning of March. Too thick or too thin 

 sowings must be avoided, the object being- to secure an even 

 plant when thinning out, without recourse to transplanting. 



In row culture, the seeds should be inserted at a minimum 

 depth of 2 inches, so that the resulting crowns may be well 

 covered with soil. In some of the alluvial districts, where 

 asparagus is cultivated on a somewhat large scale, it is 

 customary to plant in rows 18 inches apart, every third row 

 being omitted. 



The resulting produce may amount to 6 or 12 heads per 

 stool. Two or three year old plants are sometimes used, but it 

 is preferable to employ one year old seedlings raised at home. 

 In making the permanent beds, the French growers allow 

 as much as 4 feet between the rows, the object being to give 

 the plants an easy time from the start. 



The Evesham growers practice two methods of planting. 

 Firstly, the plants may be "channelled in" in a channel or 

 wide drill 3 inches deep, the roots being placed on their sides 

 head to tail all along the channel ; they are then covered with 

 earth by means of a hoe, and firmly trodden in. Secondly, 

 the roots may be set at the proper distance apart — 9 inches to 

 1 foot in the rows — and pinned down with setting pins. 

 Crops of lettuce or dwarf beans may be raised during the 

 first year as an intercrop, and these not only assist with the 

 market returns, but also help to free the ground of weeds. 

 When purchasing plants for planting, it is very important to 

 secure freshly dug specimens which have been promptly 

 despatched; the drying effects of sun and wind must at all 

 times be avoided. 



After- Cultivation. — This consists principally of manuring, 

 earthing-up, cutting, and re-earthing during the season of 

 cutting. Attention must also be paid to the eradication of 

 weeds, and diligent search must be made for signs of the 

 asparagus beetle. The stems are cut down in November and 

 the ridges levelled. In the second autumn a slight ridge is 

 formed about the plants by drawing a little soil up with the 

 hoe, and the stalks are then left until the spring. A moderate 

 covering of soil is placed over them in the following spring 

 by digging a light trench between the rows, and in the 



