2I 4 
VEGETABLE GARDENING 
given the second year. The plants should then be well 
established and a different course of treatment given. 
The supply of vegetable matter must be maintained. 
This may be done by applying annually io to 15 tons of 
stable manure to the acre. Much larger amounts were 
used some years ago, but more economical results have 
been attained by reducing the application of stable manure 
and increasing the amount of commercial fertilizers. 
Manure may be applied in the fall, early in the spring 
or at the close of the cutting season. It is doubtful, how- 
ever, whether application should ever be made in the fall, 
and there is a growing inclination to make such applica- 
tions after the cutting season, rather than in the spring. 
All kinds of stable manures are satisfactory for aspar- 
agus. They should be applied between rather than 
directly over the rows. It is believed that mulching with 
manure over the rows is objectionable because of the 
tendency of the manure to draw the crowns of the plants 
nearer and nearer the surface. Furrows are often opened 
with a one-horse plow to receive the manure. This prac- 
tice is questionable, because the plow necessarily breaks 
and mutilates a great many roots. The better practice 
is to broadcast the manure as evenly as possible between 
the rows, and to mix it with the soil, by the use of a disk 
or a cutaway harrow. 
Very few garden crops can be fertilized as heavily as 
asparagus and a profit be made on every dollar expended 
for plant food. Many of the most successful growers 
believe that the largest net returns cannot be realized 
without an annual investment for plant food of $60 to 
$80 an acre. Stable manures have been practically 
abandoned by some growers, but the safer practice is to 
apply them liberally enough to maintain the supply of 
humus. From one to three tons of commercial fertilizer 
an acre may be employed advantageously on established beds. 
There has been much discussion as to the character of 
