CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 
215 
the fertilizer adapted to this crop. According L o analyses 
made by Wolff, a ton of fresh sprouts contains 6.4 pounds 
of nitrogen, 1.8 pounds of phosphoric acid and 2.4 pounds 
of potash. The best fields produce at the rate of three 
tons an acre, and this would require 19.2 pounds of nitro- 
gen, 5.4 pounds of phosphoric acid and 7.2 pounds of 
potash. It is very evident that the shoots themselves do 
not abstract large amounts of plant food. To meet these 
needs it would take only 128 pounds of nitrate of soda, 
38 pounds of 14 per cent rock phosphate and 14 pounds 
of muriate of potash. Now, why do expert growers feed 
their plants with such great liberality? Because other 
factors besides the mere production of shoots must be 
taken into account. The enormous root system and the 
tons of tops renewed every year must be supported. 
Again, growth of both shoots and tops must be very 
rapid, and consequently there must be no shortage in the 
supply of quickly available plant food. 
Nearly all growers agree that nitrogen is the most im- 
portant element of plant food for asparagus, and while the 
majority of them believe that it should be applied in the 
form of nitrate of soda, some growers prefer organic 
material, as dried blood, tankage, fish scrap or cotton- 
seed meal. As to the best commercial fertilizer to use, 
investigators and practical growers differ widely in their 
recommendations. Voorhees suggests the basic fertilizer, 
4-8-10, supplementing with heavy applications of nitrate. 
Rolfs recommends 4-5-7. An expert New Jersey grower 
uses a 6-7-5 formula. Many practical growers prefer 5 
or 6 per cent of nitrogen. 
The proper time of application is a much disputed 
question. As the leaves or elaborating organs are not 
permitted to develop until after the cutting season, it is 
argued by some that the proper time to apply nearly all 
of the plant food, both stable manure and commercial 
fertilizer, is after the cutting season, when the leaves are 
