Beans. 
71 
Asparagus,  and  there  are  growers  who  believe  them.  Mixed 
chemical  manures  ai-e  good,  and,  of  course,  farmyard  and 
stable  manures  are  also  good. 
Some  experiments  as  to  the  com])arative  effects  of  different 
manures,  which  were  conducted  by  me  during  the  four  years, 
1900  to  1903,  showed  that  although  stable  manure  gave  the 
greatest  average  weight  j)er  acre,  mixed  chemical  manure  gave 
at  all  times  the  brightest  and  most  tender  “heads”  of  Asparagus; 
and  the  conclusion  deduced  from  the  ex])eriments  is  that  a 
combination  of  animal  manure  and  mixed  chemical  manure  will 
give  better  results  in  quantity  and  (piality  than  either  is  capable 
of  sej)arately.  T am  also  of  opinion  that  salt  alone  or  soot  alone 
mav  stimulate  growth  for  a short  series  of  years,  after  which  the 
Asparagus  becomes  ra])idly  exhausted  and  the  beds  or  ])lantations 
are  comj)aratively  worthless.  New  beds  and  young  plants  must 
then  replace  the  old  ones. 
The  successful  cultivation  of  Asparagus,  briefly  stated,  con- 
sists in  selecting  the  strongest  ])lants  from  one-year-old  plants 
having  all  their  roots  intact,  planting  upon  soil  not  water-logged, 
and  rich  enough  to  j)roduce  a good  cro])  of  cabbage,  potatoes, 
or  turnips,  and  planting  in  single  rows  three  feet  or  three  feet 
six  inches  apart,  with  the  plants  twenty  inches  to  twenty-four 
inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Tf  the  site  of  the  Asparagus  planta- 
tion is  naturally  wet  then  the  plants  should  be  planted  on  ridges 
above  the  ordinary  level. 
Croj)s  such  as  lettuce,  dwarf  beans,  radishes  and  onions 
may  be  grown  between  the  rows  of  Asparagus  during  the  first 
and  second  years  after  planting,  after  which  the  ground  ought 
to  be  given  uj)  entirely  to  the  Asparagus. 
The  .subsequent  routine  of  culture  consists  in  the  annual 
manuring  or  feeding  of  the  crop — not  forgetting  liquid  manure 
(where  its  ap])lication  is  ])racticable) — before  and  after  the 
cutting  season  ; the  moulding  over  with  ])ulverised  soil  to  any 
dej)th  reasonably  desired  before  growth  commences  each  sj>ring  ; 
and  the  annual  cutting  down  of  the  Asparagus  in  November, 
together  with  the  levelling  of  the  soil  which  had  been  })laced 
over  the  A.sparagus  in  spring.  The  growth  of  weeds  must,  of 
course,  be  prevented.  Tt  is  finally  important  to  observe  the 
precaution  not  to  cut  all  the  strong  shoots  and  leave  all  the 
weak  ones  during  the  cutting  period,  and  not  to  continue 
cutting  too  long  each  season. 
Beans. — French  or  Dicarf  Bean. — This  will  not  bear  frost 
without  injury,  but  will  thrive  in  a high  and  moist  temperature. 
