COKXOYElt’8 COLOSSAL ASPARAGUS. 
dk,qi|ell & Complete $eed Gfuide. 
ASPARAGUS 
(Asparagus officinalis). 
CULTURE.-'/ b raise plants for transplant iia /, seed 
may be. sown in drills one foot apart and an inch deep, early 
in April, Cover iuy with fine soil. Every fifth row may he 
omitted for convenience in c/eaniny. The seeds should he 
placed two inches apart, and all allowed to grow until early 
in June , when, or before , they will he in what may he termed 
second feather • Then is the rime to mark the plants. 
Some will have a strong first feather, and a second 
growth coming ; this is the one required. Others will 
have weaker and more numerous feathers , which should 
he grubbed out with a hand fork, leaving those that have 
single feathers as near six inches apart as possible. The 
exact distance is immaterial ; the chief thing is to get the 
plants of the character indicated above, as the plants are to 
remain a year only before transplanting. The first feather is 
to be cut away in favour of the second when the latter overtops 
it, or when it is well advanced in growth, and this second shoot 
is to be shown every favour through the season, cutting away 
all others coming after early July, but if there arise another 
stronger shoot by, say Midsummer day, select it and cut away 
the second. In fact, save the best of the shoots appearing by 
or before Midsummer, and cut all others away right through 
the season, as any coming a fter that have no chance of forming 
well-ripened buds. If a stronger shoot comes later, save both. 
This is the treatment advised for the seedlings in the first year 
to obtain plants with strong single crowns for transplant ini/ 
the. following spring, into a permanently prepared bed of deep, 
light, friable soil, well trenched and mixed with decayed 
manure. It is not advisable to cut during the first year, and 
but very sparingly the second, and should never be prolonged 
after Midsummer, or the plant will be injured. 
GIANT ASPARAGUS. 
Connover’s Colossal... 
Giant 
Per 07.. — s. (1. 
0 4 
.. 0 0 
For plants, see page 46. 
BEET (Beta vulgaris). 
CULTURE. — Sow the middle of April, on ground that has been deeply dug and well manured 
the previous year. At the time of sowing, the ground should be again deeply dug and the seeds sown 
in rows a foot apart. It may be sown in drills drawn by a hoe, or by dibbling a few seeds in holes an 
inch deep and a foot apart in the rows; thin out, when the plants are about 2 inches high, to a foot 
apart where in drills, and where dibbled in holes draw out all except one. When lifting the roots , in 
October or November, great care must be taken not to bruise them or cut off any small shoots or out - 
growths or the colouring will be gone. 
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