ASPARAGUS. 
37 
J^andretlis^ Specialties 
...AND A FnW... 
Qtlier J)esirable Sorts. 
ASPARAGUS. 
Eight Ounces of Seed to 100 yards of Kow. Fifteen Pounds to the Acre. 
This plant succeeds best on sandy soil, though reclaimed marsh land, when freed from 
water, is admirably adapted to its culture; the lighter the soil the earlier the plants shoot in 
the Spring. Of whatever character the ground may be, it should be well cleared of trash or 
other incumbrances, and in a good state of cultivation. The land is prepared by opening 
deep trenches six or eight feet apart, by passing a two-horse plow twice to each furrow, throw- 
ing a furrow slice to the right and left, and finally cleaning and deepening the furrow by a 
third passage of the plow. The roots are planted in the bottom of the furrow, at eighteen 
inches apart, and covered by an inch of soil. 
Stable manure may be applied in the furrow before the roots are placed, or on top of the 
roots after they are covered. 
North of the latitude of Washington, Spring planting, when the apple is in bloom, is 
considered to give the best results, but south of Washington, Fall planting has proven the 
best. We can ship Asparagus roots from October to March, to any point within looo miles, 
but they must be planted as soon as received, as if exposed to the air are soon injured in 
vigor. 
If the rows be six feet apart, about 6000 plants are required to plant an acre; if at eight 
feet apart, 4000 plants are required to the acre. 
One-year-old well-developed roots are better than older ones. When well planted and 
fertilized a cutting of stalks can be made about three times the second year after planting. 
.■Jr. 
A Field of Beets at Bloomsdale. 
Cutting^ should not be continued too late in the Spring or the roots will become exhausted if 
the shoots are not allowed to develop fully, for of com-se it must be understood the leaves are 
the lungs of the plants After cutting has ceased the ground should be worked by plowing 
away from the rows and manuring alongside, after which the earth should be thrown back. 
Twenty bushels of salt to the acre, sown broadcast, may be used to advantage annually. 
The roots of Asparagus (thoiigh some penetrate six and eight feet in depth) are, many of 
them, inclined to run near the surface; the cultivator should accordingly, as far as possible, 
aim at flat culture. Farly crops, like Peas, may be prof?tably grown 'between the rows of 
Asparagus for the first two or three years. Asparagus can be bleached and made especially 
tender by mulching or covering with six inches of fine cut hay, straw or leaves. 
A season's cutting covers eight to ten weeks, and profitable cutting continues up to ten 
years from planting, after which time the beds are considered unprofitable by market 
gardeners. 
From 800 to 1500 two-pound bunches of Asparagus can be cut to the acre, and a good field- 
hand can cut 150 bunches in a day. In the Philadelphia market Asparagus bunches are 
always made to weigh two pounds, and vary from ten to fifty stalks to the bunch, according 
to condition of culture. A skillful workman can trim, wash, pack and tie about ^oo bunches 
in a day. At the New York market green-pointed "grass" is demanded, the Philadelphia 
market calls for white pointed. Both celors are found in the same field. The price obtained 
