462 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



crop may be cut somewhat, but not sooner if a lasting bed is desired, 

 as the effort to replace the stalks has a tendency to weaken the plant 



unless the roots are well estab- 

 lished. The cutting should 

 cease in June or early July, or 

 the roots may be much weak- 

 ened. In cutting, care should 

 be taken to insert the knife 

 vertically, so that adjoining 

 crowns will not be injured (Fig. 

 296). 



The yearly treatment of an 

 asparagus bed consists of clean- 

 ing off tops and weeds in the 

 fall and adding a dressing of 

 well-rotted manure to the 

 depth of 3 or 4 inches, this ma- 

 nure to be lightly forked into the 

 bed the following spring; or the tops may be allowed to stand for 

 winter protection and the mulch left off. A top-dressing of nitrate of 

 soda, at the rate of 200 pounds per acre, is often beneficial as a spring 

 stimulant, particularly in the case of an old bed. Good results will also 

 follow an application of bone meal or superphosphate at the rate of 

 some 300 to 500 pounds per acre. The practice of sowing salt on an as- 

 paragus bed is almost universal ; yet beds that have never received a 

 pound of salt are found to be as productive as those having received an 

 annual dressing. Nevertheless, a salt dressing is recommended. Two 

 rows of asparagus 25 feet long and 3 feet apart should supply a large 

 family with an abundance throughout the season, and if well taken care 

 of, will last a number of years. 



Conover Colossal is the variety most generally grown, and is per- 

 haps the most satisfactory sort. Palmetto, a variety originating at 

 the South, is also very popular. 



Artichoke. — The artichoke of literature is a tall, coarse perennial 

 of the thistle tribe, producing edible flower-heads. Cardoon is a re- 

 lated plant. 



A 



296. Good (A) and poor (B) modes of 

 inserting the knife to cut asparagus. 

 Some careful growers pull or break the 

 shoots rather than cut them. 



