irtichokes  ; Asparagus. 
69 
handle  conveniently,  upon  well-prepared  ground  exactly  as 
advised  for  divided  plants.  Water  them  after  planting  and 
during  dry  weather  until  they  are  well  established.  Hoe  the 
soil  frequently  during  summer  and  autumn  ; and  in  November 
place  some  long  manure  close  uj)  to  and  around  the  plants,  with 
the  double  object  of  feeding  and  ]>rotecting  them  from  injury 
by  frost  during  winter. 
Asparagus. — This,  a native  of  Great  Britain,  is  one  of  the 
greatest  delicacies  which  our  market  and  kitchen  gardens 
afford,  and  it  is  particularly  valuable  from  the  early  sea.son 
at  which  it  is  produced.  Within  a radius  of  six  miles  of 
Fig.  1.— Asparagus  in  single  rows,  .S  feet  apart. 
Evesham  hundreds  of  acres  of  Asparagus  are  grown,  and 
the  cro])  forms  the  chief  source  of  revenue  for  the  supjiort  of 
many  scores  of  families  in  that  district.  It  is  a profitable 
crop  to  grow  for  market,  and  will  realise,  under  speciallv  good 
culture,  nearly  70/.  jier  acre  ; but  an  average  crop  yields  about 
40/.  per  acre. 
The  old-fashioned  method  of  growing  Asparagus  in  beds, 
five  feet  to  .six  feet  in  width,  has  been  long  abandoned  by  good 
cultivators  ; and  we  seldom  find  more  than  two  rows  growing 
upon  a narrow  bed.  But  the  rule  now  is  to  plant  Asparagus 
