Asparagus 
Asparagus is one of the earliest spring vegetables and 
would be in universal use were it not for the mistaken idea 
that it is difficult to grow. In reality it can be produced 
very easily and cheaply. It does best in a moist, sandy soil, 
but can be grown in any garden by following the directions 
given here. A bed 15x20 feet, requiring about 100 plants 
should give an abundant supply for an ordinary family. 
CULTURE Pour hot, but not boiling, water on the seed 
and let it stand until cool; pour it off and 
repeat two or three times, with fresh hot water. Then sow in 
drills one foot apart and two inches deep in light, rich soil. 
When the plants are well up, thin to about one inch apart and 
give frequent and thorough cultivation during the summer. If 
this has been well done, the plants will be fit to set the 
next spring. The permanent beds should be prepared by deep 
ploughing or spading and thoroughly enriching the ground with 
stable manure or other fertilizer. If the subsoil is not naturally 
loose and friable, it should be made so by thoroughly stirring 
with a subsoil plow or the spade. Set the plants about four 
inches deep and one to two feet apart in rows four to six feet 
apart. After the plants are well started give frequent and 
thorough cultivation. Early the next spring spade in a heavy 
dressing of manure, and one quart of salt to each square rod 
and cultivate well as long as the size of the plants will permit 
or until they begin to die down. The next season the bed may 
be cut over two or three times, but if this is done, all the 
shoots, no matter how small, should be cut. After the final 
cutting, give a good dressing of manure, ashes and salt. Culti- 
vate frequently until the plants meet in the rows. In autumn, 
after the tops are fully ripe and yellow, they should be cut and 
burned. If well cultivated and manured the bed should give a 
full crop the following season and continue productive for eight 
or ten years. 
Columbian Mammoth White 
This most distinct and valuable Asparagus was introduced in 
1893. The immense shoots are clear white, and in favorable 
weather remain so until three or four inches above the surface. 
The crown or bud of the young stalk is constantly smaller than 
the part below it, thus further distinguishing the variety. All 
but a very few of the seedlings will produce clear white shoots, 
and the green ones can be readily distinguished and rejected 
when setting the permanent bed. 
Giant Argenteuil 
One of the most pop- 
ular varieties in the 
_ Paris market. Stalks 
extra large, tender and most delicious flavor. Very hardy 
and a great favorite with the market gardeners of this 
country. 
Conover’s Colossal 
A mammoth, green sort of the largest size and of good quality. 
One of the best known and most generally cultivated varieties. 
Palmetto 
A very productive variety, earlier than Conover’s, having large dark green shoots of 
the very finest quality. A great favorite with growers owing to its earliness and unusual 
number of cuttings produced. 
CULTURE No crop res P° ncIs rnore readily to good soil and cultivation 
than this. The soil best adapted to it is a light, rich, well 
drained loam, which was manured for the previous crop. If too rank manure is 
used it is apt to make the plant run too much to vine. Beans are extremely 
sensitive to both cold and wet, and it is useless to plant them before the ground 
has become dry and warm. The largest returns will result from planting in drills from two to three feet apart and 
leaving the plants two to six inches apart in the row. Up to the time of blossoming they require frequent shallow 
cultivation, but any cutting of the roots after the plants come into bloom is likely to cause the blossoms to blast and so 
cut off the crop. Remember that the cultivation of beans should be very shallow, and that it is useless to expect a 
crop from a field so poorly prepared as to need deep stirring after planting. 
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