THE POPPY ASPARAGUS. 
233 
taken off before the seed perfects itself, the 
whole ground will be covered in a season. 
There is another disadvantage in this flower — 
its exceeding short period of bloom ; probably 
in a hot summer it does not last a fortnight, 
and even in that time the first pods will be 
ripe enough to scatter the seed ; still the Poppy 
has struck out into numerous and richly 
coloured varieties, vieing for the moment with, 
if not eclipsing, most of the other flowers of its 
season, and literally lighting up an otherwise 
very dull scene. On this account it has many 
admirers, and in very large domains it is usual 
to sprinkle a few seeds every dozen yards or 
so, round the outer borders of large shrubbe- 
ries, not in small patches, but in a sort of broad 
cast sowing, say miss a dozen yards, and then 
scatter a pinch of seed so as to occupy three 
or four yards, but very thinly sown. This 
may be done as early as any of the border 
seeds ; when they are well up, they may be 
thinned out with the hoe to such distance as 
will enable them to grow and bloom well, and 
then be allowed to take their chance. The in- 
stant they begin to flower, pull up or hoe out 
all the single and semi-double ones, and re- 
tain only the best ; but if the seed be originally 
sowed for double flowers, they will come very 
generally double, and wherever there happens 
to be any better than ordinary, or new in 
colour, they may be marked for seed and the 
pods be left on ; the others should have 
their decaying flowers cut oft', and no pods be 
allowed to perfect themselves, for they would 
so sprinkle the ground, that they would plague 
you the next season like so many weeds, and 
require hoeing out, besides which, you would 
be obliged to depend on them as your stock 
for next year, for it would be useless to sow 
other. 
ASPARAGUS. 
TnE Asparagus, (Asparagus officinalis,) is 
a native of the sandy sea-coast in several parts 
of Britain, seldom rising above a foot high, 
and bearing little apparent resemblance to the 
cultivated plant. In cultivation, it rises four 
or more feet high, according to the soil in 
which it is grown. There is, in reality, only 
one sort of Asparagus, the giant varieties 
being merely the result of good cultivation in 
very favourable soils. A rich sandy loam is 
the description of soil in which this plant 
thrives ; and where such a soil is not naturally 
present, endeavours should be made to bring 
it as nearly to such a quality as possible, by 
deep trenching, and the addition of sand, clay, 
loam, or whatever may appear to be most 
needed. Ground intended for this plant should 
also be well manured when it is trenched, such 
trenching to be three or more feet deep, or as 
deep as the soil will allow. The manure 
should be thoroughly mixed with the soil, and 
drains should be put in to secure the quarter 
from stagnant water if necessary. If a foot of 
prime spit dung be spread over the whole of 
the quarter, and well incorporated with the 
soil, it will not be found too much. In 
trenching, a fair trench should be opened at 
one end of the piece, and then the earth and 
dung should be chopped down, turned over, 
and thrown to the other side of the trench : 
in this manner the dung and earth are well 
mixed, and the ground is left light and open. 
If this be done during winter, a second turn- 
ing over in February or March, just before 
sowing or planting, would be highly beneficial. 
In the latter month, proceed to lay out the 
ground into beds four feet wide, and with 
alleys between them three feet wide. Throw 
out only a little of the earth from the alleys 
on to the beds, and level the beds. If the 
ground is fit for the growth of Asparagus, 
three rows of plants in each bed will be quite 
sufficient ; but if poor, four rows may be 
planted. In the first open weather in March, 
the seed should be sown in equidistant rows, 
extending the length of the bed, drawing drills 
about two inches deep, and scattering the seeds 
thinly in it; rake smooth, and tread the seeds 
in if the ground be light. The beds must be 
kept very clean from weeds; and regular atten- 
tion to watering in dry weather will materially 
assist the progress of the plants. When they 
are about two inches high, thin them out to 
about nine inches or a foot apart in the rows, 
according to the capabilities of the soil. In 
the following spring, give a dressing of well- 
rotted dung, and carefully fork it in. It is a 
general practice to lay on the dung in the 
autumn as a protection against frost, by which 
it becomes .very much exhausted before the 
spring; so if this course be pursued, some 
addition ought to be made previously to fork- 
ing over the beds. 
Sea-weed is an excellent manure for this 
vegetable; and considerable benefit to the crop 
has also accrued from giving the beds a good 
dressing with salt in the spring. The above 
method should be pursued in the second and 
third years, adding more earth to the beds 
from the alleys in each season, and manuring 
well also. In the third season, some begin to 
cut the heads for table ; but this is not to be 
recommended, as it materially weakens the 
roots; and even in the fourth year but few 
should be cut, and those only the earliest. 
Some prefer planting one year old plants, 
which have been raised in beds sown thicker 
than when intended to be left; but the sowing 
where they are to remain is decidedly the 
better practice, although by the former method 
a year is apparently gained in the plants 
