is often planted a foot apart in the rows, and the rows three feet apart, and sometimes three 
feet apart each way. Cut for use the third year after planting, and if the shoots appear pretty 
strong, a little may be cut the second year. The part used is the young shoots when about 
five or six inches in height, and when the bud is close and 
firm, and these should be cut a little below the surface, with a 
sloping cut. It is not best to continue the cutting late in the 
season, unless the shoots are very robust. Always give the bed 
a good dressing of manure in the fall, first removing the dead 
brush of the past season. As an Asparagus bed will last longer 
than the maker, it should be well made, and there should be 
no haste in cutting, Those who do not wish the trouble and 
delay of growing Asparagus from seed, can obtain plants either 
one or two years old at a very moderate price. Secure a 
good, rich, deep, mellow soil, and set the plants with the roots 
spread out naturally, just as a good gardener would arrange the roots of any tree or plant, and 
so deep that the crown will be two to three inches below the surface. In removing weeds, be 
careful not to injure the crowns. In the spring remove them only by hand. The engravings 
show a bunch of Asparagus as usually exposed for sale, a root of Asparagus with the young shoots 
well started, some of them almost ready for cutting, and a branch of the plant at seeding time. 
The roots, if procured in the spring, and in good condition, will sIiqw the buds or young shoots 
an inch or two in length. 
BEANS. 
Beans are usually divided into two general classes. Dwarf and Pole Beans. The Dwarfs are 
earlier and more hardy, as a general rule, than the running sorts. The Dwarfs are generally 
used for string-beans 
when the pods are ten- 
der, and the climbers 
only for shelling. We 
have endeavored in the 
engraving to show the 
habit of both. Beans like 
a dry and rather light 
soil, though they will do 
well in any garden soil if 
not set out too early in 
the spring. Nothing is 
gained by planting until 
the ground is tolerably 
dry and warm. The 
Dwarf varieties grow 
from twelve to eighteen 
inches in height, need no 
support, and are planted ! 
either in drills or hills. 
The drills should be not 
less than a foot apart, 
two inches deep, and the seed set in the drills from two to three inches apart. The usual method 
in hills is to allow about four plants to a hill, and the hills two by three feet apart. Rows are 
best for the garden. A quart of ordinary sized Beans is about fifteen hundred, and will sow 
two hundred and fifty feet of row, or one hundred and fifty hills. Hoe well, but only when dry. 
Running Beans should not be planted quite as early as the Dwarfs. The usual way of planting is 
in hills, about three feet apart, with the pole in the center of the hill. A very good way is to 
grow the running varieties in drills, using the tallest pea brush that can be secured conveniently. 
When the plants reach the top of the brush, pinch off the ends. The effect will be to cause 
greater fruitfulness below. In a stiff soil, especially, the Lima comes up better if planted carefully 
144 
