50 
AMERICAN AGPJCCRT-ORIST. 
cellar; and another pair of stairs should have 
been provided, leading from the wing directly up 
to the attic or third story, without requiring the 
use of the main hall. 
The outside architecture is to our liking. There 
are few angles or joinings, to spring leaks. The 
ornamental work is tasteful hut not finical, taw¬ 
dry, or expensive. 
Asparagus—Cultivation. 
Tliis vegetable is supposed by some to be a 
native of England, it having been found there, 
growing wild on the shores of certain rivers. 
Olliers assert that its native habitat is Southern 
Russia and Poland, where it grows so abundant¬ 
ly as to be used for the food of oxen and horses. 
It has, however, been long acclimated in Eng¬ 
land and on this continent. Though not greatly 
nutritious, it makes a pleasant relish with 
other food, and coming into use quite early in the 
Spring, it is universally popular. Besides, the 
doctors say that it has some slight medicinal 
properties: “ it is an active diuretic, and is of 
considerable value in obstructions of the urinary 
organs. It is also anti-scorbutic.” An extract 
has been made from it, called Asparagene, which 
is used in several diseases. For these several 
reasons, if for no others, this vegetable has been 
used by mankind, almost from time immemorial. 
The most common method of cultivation is 
this: To prepare the ground for receiving the 
roots, take out the soil eighteen inches or two 
feet deep over the whole space of your proposed 
bed, put in at the bottom several inches thick of 
broken bricks, old bones, horn piths, leather, old 
mortar, and what not; then fill up the trench with 
light, warm soil, heavily manured, and plant the 
roots of the asparagus on the top, covering them 
with a few inches of earth. Most excellent as¬ 
paragus has been grown in this way, and many 
si ill insist that it is the only way. Hear Mr. 
Buist, no mean authority in such matters : “ The 
nest ground for asparagus is a light, sandy loam, 
at least two feet deep. Before planting, it should 
be dug very deep or trenched, burying in plenty 
of manure. The ground can scarcely be too rich, 
for the sweetness and tenderness of the shoots 
depend on the rapidity of the growth, which is 
greatly promoted by the richness of the soil.” 
Of course, asparagus will live amid the 
sands of the sea-shore, and on the steppes of 
Asia, but to ensure a rapid and succulent growth, 
desirable to lit it for a table dish, a warm, rich 
and deep soil seems essential. In gardens where 
the soil is naturally deep and rich, less trenching 
and manuring will he needful. Of one thing we 
are convinced by experience, viz.: that the soil 
must be suitably dry. If naturally wet and cold, 
it must be drained, and if it can not be drained 
let the bed be built up a ford; or eighteen inches 
above the ordinary surface of the garden. 
To propagate from, seeds prepare a temporary, bed 
in any common soil, the same as for beets or on¬ 
ions. The numerous varieties may all be re¬ 
solved into two, the green-lop and the purple-top, 
the last being the best. (The Giant sort, some¬ 
times highly extolled, is gigantic only when well 
manured). Sow the seeds early in Spring, thinly 
in drills, about an inch and a half deep, and in 
rows eighteen inches apart. Keep the beds free 
from weeds during the Summer, water the plants 
in very dry weather, and in the Fall cover them 
with leaves or strawy litter, two or three inches 
deep. Next Spring the plants will he in a good 
state for setting out in permanent beds. For an 
ordinary family, a bed eighteen feet long .and five 
wide, will furnish an abundance. As a general 
thing much time will be saved by buying one or 
two year old roots from nurserymen or commer¬ 
cial gardeners, who usually keep a stock on hand. 
The permanent bed having been prepared 
reasonably deep, rich, and with a dry bottom, 
.stretch a line across it lengthwise, and with a 
spade cut a small furrow six inches deep. Now, 
take up the roots from the seed-bed with care not 
to break them, and set them out again in the fur¬ 
rows as soon as possible, so as not to suffer them 
to become at all dry. Do not crowd the roots in¬ 
to a hole, but spread them out carefully and min¬ 
gle the soil among them. The plants should be 
nine inches apart in the rows, and the crowns 
about two inches below the surface of the bed. 
The first row being planted, stretch the line again, 
a foot away from the first, and proceed as before. 
After all the roots are planted, level off the bed, 
raking stones and all rubbish into the walks, and 
finish off the edges in a neat and workmanlike 
manner. For the first two Summers, the beds 
should be kept clean, and every Fall be covered 
with a light coat of manure. It is the practice of 
some to raise lettuce and radishes between the 
rows for two or three years ; but, as Mr. Lou¬ 
don says, “ it is a questionable practice, and 
should by no means be continued after the plants 
have come into bearing.” The third year from 
seed, the young sprouts may be cut for the table. 
A bed well made and afterwards cared for, will 
last many years. 
The annual routine of culture for an establish¬ 
ed bed is this: Keep always clear of weeds. 
By middle of October, cut down the ripe stalks 
and carry to compost heap. Cover bed with 
three inches of manure or leaves. In Spring, 
rake off' the coarsest part of the manure, and 
fork the rest into the soil, taking care not to 
injure the crowns of the plants. It will do no 
harm, even if it does little good, to sprinkle the 
beds every Spring with salt. There are differ¬ 
ent opinions about this practice. Keep the beds 
always smooth and neat. The sprouts may be 
used for about two months. 
Have you Bhubarb or Pie Plant ? 
There is a great lack in the Spring, of good 
vegetables and fruits for the table. Beets, tur¬ 
nips, potatoes, cabbages, and apples, if not entire¬ 
ly used up, get old and wilted, and lose nearly all 
their freshness. The stomach longs, ( hankers 
is just the word here,) for something new and 
green. What can he got 1 Something. Per¬ 
haps a few pnrsneps or vegetable oysters were 
left in the garden over the Winter. If so, make 
a trial of them. They are a fine appetizer. To 
most palates, they are sweeter and tenderer than 
those wintered in sand in the cellar. 
But if these do not suffice, try the Rhubarb or 
Pie Plant. This is not as old-fashioned a vege¬ 
table as the asparagus. Twenty years ago, hard¬ 
ly a dollar’s worth could he found in our markets ; 
now, many thousand dollars worth are annually 
sold. It is good for pies, tarts, jellies, and is pre¬ 
served in air-tight jars for use in Winter. 
Culture —The simplest hut not the quickest me¬ 
thod is to raise it from seed, which can he bought 
at any seed-store. Early in Spring, prepare a 
patch of light, rich soil, sow in drills an inch deep, 
and a foot apart. The plants will be up in about 
a month. During the Summer, keep down the 
weeds, stir the soil often, and water if necessary. 
A few radishes sown between the rows, will he 
out of the way before the rhubarb has made 
much growth. The plants should be thinned out 
until they stand about one foot apart. In the Fall, 
[F KRIMJARY, 
prepare permanent beds for them. Choose, mod¬ 
erately moist land, yet not stiff and cold. Give a 
deep overturning, working in at the same time 
a lot of old manure. Set the plants three or four 
feet asunder, to allow for extension of leaves and 
roots. The crowns should ho set three inches 
below the surface, then cover with several inches 
of old leaves or strawy manure, for the Winter 
This plant is a native of Tartary, and is as hardy 
as a burdock, and will bear hard usage, yet none 
responds better to good treatment. To get the 
best returns from it, keep the soil light and clean 
around the plants through the Summer, and cov¬ 
er them with several inches of leaves, or muck, 
or manure, fur the Wiqter. This will give them 
a strong and early start in the Spring. Some 
gardeners scatter gypsum on the leaves when 
they are wet with dew, to give them a new im¬ 
pulse. The manure is to be worked in around 
the plants every Spring. For several years, the 
writer managed his plants thus, and though they 
were only the commonest sorts picked up at a 
neighboring nursery, our visitors uniformly lifted 
up their hands in astonishment at our mammoth¬ 
leaved plants, exclaiming: What new variety is 
this 1 In answer, we pointed to the manure-heap, 
For those who do not wish to raise rhubarb 
from seed, it can be propagated by divisions of 
the roots obtained from dealers, making a plant 
from every eye. Wherever the improved va¬ 
rieties, such as the Linnajus, can be purchased, 
it is better to do so, than to attempt to raise 
plants from seed, for you not only save time but 
are more certain of having a good kind. 
Artificial Culture —Take up a few roots in the 
Fall, and pack them away in boxes of dirt in the 
cellar. After a nap of six weeks or two months, 
set them in a warm closet near the kitchen stove, 
giving them a little water. They will grow rap¬ 
idly. Persons having green-houses can set them 
under the staging, and they will grow without 
much coaxing. 
Another way is to set several plants in the 
Fall near together by the stable-door. Before 
Winter.sets in, put barrels over the crowns, and 
throw a little manure around them to keep out 
the frost. In the latter part of February, throw 
fresh horse-dung daily around the barrels, and 
leave on only a part of the upper head of the bar¬ 
rel. Cold as the weather is outside, the. plants 
will feel the artificial Summer at their roots, and 
will shoot forth vigorously. Fresh manure must 
be frequently added as the leaves extend. By 
the middle or latter part of March, the barrel will 
be nearly full of leaves. 
For those who do not want a fresh pie quite 
so early, the following method will answer. 
As soon as the snow is fairly melted, put boxes or 
barrels,without heads,around a few of your plants, 
and surround them with fresh manure, putting 
some inside also. This will give these plants a 
start of several weeks before those in the open air. 
The leading varieties now grown are these: 
Tobolsk —early, red-stalked, of good flavor. Giant 
a very large sort, with round, green stalks, often 
four feet long, nearly as large as a man’s wrist. 
This is quite popular in England. Myatt's Victo¬ 
ria, large, red, rich, and earlier than the Giant. 
Doicning's Colossal , better than the last, crispy, 
tender, rich and large. 
Myatt's Linnaeus, eclipses all ; very large, and 
what is very important, is the least acid of all. 
And here, let us testify to Mr. Charles Downing's 
magnanimity in having recently published a card 
certifying to the great excellence of Myatt’s Lin¬ 
naeus, and its superiority to his orvn popular 
Colossal. Surely, we may safely say, all the 
good and honorable men are not dead yet. 
