CULTIVATION OF ASPARAGUS. 



105 



It is one of the questions we want our experiment sta- 

 tions to answer.* 



In the report issued from the "Office of] the Experi- 

 ment Station," at Washington, Professor Atwater says 

 that Professor Bailey ' ' gives practical directions regard- 

 ing the quantity of seed required for a given length of 

 drill. Careful records of the quantity of seed used for 

 those vegetables ordinarily sown in drills slio-u that the 

 quantity required is usually much less than that recom- 

 mended by seedsmen." 



Now this is precisely what they do not "show." All 

 they show is that in the case of peas, Professor Bailey 

 sows peas in rows thinner than Peter Henderson in ' 'Gar- 

 dening for Profit" recommends, and far thinner than 

 many others sow them. I have myself sown peas for 

 nearly fifty years. I sow thicker than Professor Bailey ; 

 but what of it ? Professor Bailey may be right. One 

 thing is certain, however ; he will not convince an old 

 gardener that he is wrong without better evidence than 

 has yet been adduced. 



From the first year The American Garden and its 

 predecessors, the Gardeners' Monthly and the Horticul- 

 turist were published, until now, this subject has been 



[*NoTE. — It is apparent that Mr. Harris and Professor Bailey are 

 taking about very dififerent things. Mr. Harris is spealting of broad 

 rows in which the peas are dropped " one in the middle and one on 

 each side, and about_an inch^apart in the row"; while Professor 

 Bailey experimented with'drills, the peas being dropped every four- 

 fifths inch in a single series. The latter, therefore, sowed the peas 

 thicker, so far as juxtaposition of peas is concerned, while Mr. Har- 

 ris uses more seed to a given length of row.— Ed.] 



discussed. In the first volume of the Horticulturist that 

 I happened to lay my hands on, (1851) "Old Digger," 

 who I think Mr. Lucher once told me was A. J. Down- 

 ing himself, writing about peas, says : "And what is the 

 common way ? somebody asks who has never planted a 

 pea in his life. It is as simple as ruling a copy book. 

 You have only to mark off the newly dug ground with 

 straight lines (2)^ feet apart if you are planting early 

 peas, or 3_!^ if late ones) open a drill about an inch deep 

 with a hoe along these lines. Then drop the peas in this 

 drill about an inch apart. Some persons plant only a sin- 

 gle line of peas in the drill, others make the drill as broad 

 as the blade of the hoe and scatter the peas an inch apart 

 throughout the whole, and I recommend the last way as 

 giving the largest crop." 



When peas are planted three feet apart in the rows, 

 one quart of peas to 100 feet of row is none too much. 

 If the rows are two feet apart, of course they should not 

 be dropped so thick in the row. In this section we grow 

 many acres of peas for the canning establishments, and 

 we drill them in with an ordinary grain drill, in rows 

 seven to nine inches apart. In such a case a pea every 

 two inches in the row would be thick enough, and even 

 then we should have far more pea plants on a given area 

 of land than any of us usually sow in the garden. My 

 opinion is that, as a rule, we do not sow our peas thick 

 enough when planted in garden rows three feet or more 

 apart. 



Morcton Fiirm. 



Joseph Harris. 



CULTIVATION OF ASPARAGUS. 



BY THE ORIGINATOR OF CONOVER S COLOSSAL. 



LEAN, rich, light loam soil that 

 will not pack or bake is required 

 for asparagus. A good heavy 

 sod plowed under is good, as it 

 makes a bottom for the roots to 

 feed on. It requires strong, 

 coarse manure under it ; and as 

 large stalks are the requisite in 

 order to obtain high prices, the 

 roots should have plenty of room to spread. The 

 roots, after 6 or 8 years, will have grown 8 to 12 

 feet in all directions and 3 to 4 inches thick, all 

 matted together. If planted closely, small, spind- 

 ling shoots will result. By planting a good distance 

 apart, as many shoots cannot be cut from the same 

 ground, but the sprouts being larger, more bimches 

 will be secured. These heavy ones sell more read- 

 ily, and at twice or three times the price of the light 

 weights, and cost less to cultivate, cut and bunch. 

 Plough the ground thoroughly, and deeply. Strike 



out a deep furrow 5 feet each way — 6 feet is better 

 if you want your bed to improve and last for years — 

 making your crossings about 10 or 12 inches deep. Then 

 put in plenty of good coarse manure, tread it well down 

 and cover with about 2 inches of soil. Set the roots 

 on this, spreading them well. They should be 6 or 8 

 inches below the surface. Then throw a furrow over 

 them, from one side. When the rows become weedy or 

 need covering, throw a furrow on from the other side, 

 thus killing the weeds and keeping the ground loose. All 

 the attention the plants require is that the ground be 

 kept clean and loose. After the roots are well started, 

 give a good dressing of stable manure, and plow in be- 

 tween the rows, using care not to wound the crowns. 



In putting out, use i year old roots ; the best varieties 

 are Conover's Colossal and Lesher's Mammoth. The 

 depth, 6 or 8 inches, is to allow of light plowing over 

 the plants, or cultivation in the spring without injury. 

 In order to strengthen them, let the plants go to seed ; 

 but before the seeds are ripe, mow off and burn, as the 

 seed will stock the ground with young plants, like weeds. 

 At the last ploughing or cleaning, plough in a good coat 



