SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
295 
the Southern Cultivator, and believe the joining the 
South Co^intryman will be of advantage to both. 
I should be glad to have you reply, either directly or 
through the Southern Cultivator. Having nnyself no 
doubt of this Grass, I do not fear an unfavorable report, 
and certainly will not lend my aid to anything like a 
humbug. Respectfully, &c., 
Jno. R. Stanford. 
Clarksville, Ga., July, 1859. 
We give the following in answer to the inquiries 
of “A Subscriber,” on page 274 of our September num- 
ber : 
ASPARAGUS. 
Asparagus officinalis, of Botanists. 
Asperge, French. 
Esparragos, Spanish. 
Spargel, German. 
The grass seeds of which Mr. Stanford writes in the 
foregoing letter were received — their receipt acknow- 
ledged in the South Countryraan. The seeds were sown 
and have succeeded -perfectly well. We have the Tall 
Meadow Oat Grass growing side by side with the Stan- 
ford Grass. There is no perceptible difference between 
them. Our impression is that the Standford grass is one 
of great value. But our trials have not been sufficiently 
extensive, or of sufficient continuance to warrant a posi- 
tive opinion. The certificates in the advertising columns 
of this journal, will justify any planter interested in grass 
culture in giving the Stanford grass a full trial, 
Mr. Winn, of Marietta, has the same grass growing 
very well on Cobb county upland. The person who gave 
Mr. Winn the seed procured it somewhere in the West. 
The seeds of the same grass^ were sent us by a gentle- 
man in Hall county, who also procured it from the West, 
probably from Oregon. Tt is undoubtedly a native grass. 
Mr. George H. Waring, of Habersham, who has now 
about 60 acres in grass of various kinds, gives this grass 
decidedly the preference over any other grass, both for 
hay and winter pasturage. He has about three acres of 
this grass which he considers identical with the Tall 
Meadow Oat. Mr. Waring makes an extraordinary state- 
ment in regard to its yield in hay. The produce of a 
piece of ground, 90 feet by 10, was weighed by him and 
the weight was 210 lbs. This is at the rate of five tons 
per acre. This is an enormous yield — much in advance 
of anything that can be done at the North. Persons inter- 
ested in this subject by referring to our “ Essay on 
Grasses,” will find the opinions of several valuable agri- 
cultural authorities in reference to this grass. We con- 
cur with Mr. Stanford as to the want of permanence of the 
Orchard Grass — a 40 acre pasture was sowed by us ten 
years since in Red and White Clover, Blue and Orchard 
Grass. The Red Clover and Orchard Grass have disap- 
peared, the Blue Grass and White Clover have taken pos- 
session of the ground. We value the Orchard grass chief- 
ly for its immediate return, and would always sow it 
with some more permanent grass, unless it was used with 
Red Clover, in convertible husbandry for improvement of 
the soil. It remains to be determined by time whether 
the Tall Meadow Oat Grass is more permanent than the 
Orchard Grass. Either of them, we presume, will last 
quite as long as it is desirable to retain arable land in pas- 
ture or for meadow. H. 
Let no one suppose that by acting a good part 
Ihrongh life he will escape slander. There will be those 
even who hate them for the very qualities-'that ought to 
procure esteem. There are some folks in the world who 
are not willing that others should be better than them- 
selves. 
“The Asparagus is a hardy perennial, of universal cul- 
tivation, and every year is coming more and more into use. 
There are only two distinct varieties, the Purple-topped 
and the Green-topped. The former is most esteemed, and 
may be distinguished by the closeness of its heads, which 
is of a purple reddish-green color soon after it springs 
forth. The supposed variety, called the “Giant,” on ac- 
count of its size, owes its excellence chiefly to superior 
cultivation. 
“Propagation and Culture. — This plant may be 
propagated by seeds ; but when a new bed is formed, 
time will be saved by procuring strong one-year-old 
plants from some gardener, and planting them as soon as 
possible, without exposure to the air, in drills, one foot 
apart, and nine inches from plant to plant, in finely pre- 
pared beds, 4 or 5 feet wide, with the crown of the roots 
two inches below the surface, drawing the earth over 
them to keep them in place. 
“The best period for sowing the seed is in early spring, 
say at the time of the flowering of the peach tree. The 
seed should be thinly sown in drills, from one and a half 
to two inches deep, and eighteen inches from drill to drill. 
The ground should be a rich sandy loam, well pulverized 
and manured. In the course of the season, the young 
plants should be frequently hoed and kept free from weeds. 
In regions subject to severe frosts, the roots should be 
protected in winter with a covering of litter, to be applied 
late in the fall. 
“The ground for an asparagus bed can scarcely be 
made too rich. It should be spaded or trenched at least 
two spades deep, and thoroughly intermixed with half- 
rotted manure. From twenty-five to thirty pounds of 
common salt should be applied to each square rod of 
ground, well incorporated in the soil to a depth of four or 
five inches. The beds may then be formed, and planted 
as directed above, and during the second summer, no fur- 
ther care will be required than keeping the plants clear of 
weeds. The following winter, if the climate requires it, 
cover them with rotten manure to a a depth of three or 
four inches, to protect the crowns from /rost. The first 
two years, the plants may be allowed to run up to stalks, 
in order that vigorous crowns may be formed for the suc- 
ceeding crop. 
“After the third year, the stalks should be annually cut 
down quite to the ground, late in the autumn, where the 
climate is severe, and a dressing of well-rotted manure 
spread over the roots to the depth of three inches, with 
the double object of protecting them from frost, and of 
fertilizing the soil. As soon as the ground opens in the 
spring, the covering of manure should be forked or 
spaded in, to a depth of three or four inches, taking due 
care not to wound the crown of the roots. Then evenly 
level the surface of the beds with a rake, and a full crop 
may be expected to rise. As soon as the shoots reach 
three or four inches above the ground, scrape away a 
little earth, and cut them ofifin a slanting direction, about 
three inches below the surface, taking care not to wound 
the advancing buds. Do not extend the cutting beyond 
the month of A pril.” 
^^Industry is an excellent guard for virtue; the more 
active your life, the less opportunity have the passions to 
corrupt you. 
