236 
‘THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 7, 
Mulching the Asparagus Crop. 
C. 8. K„ Willow Grove, Pa .—I note sev¬ 
eral articles concerning the cultivation of 
asparagus. I desire to know the opinion 
of successful growers of same; whether 
after a bed is set out and carefully culti¬ 
vated the first season, it will do to mulch 
with straw and droppings from my hens, 
the straw being used for scratching litter 
in the sheds for two weeks before going 
out on asparagus. My thought was to 
sow broadcast phosphate and potash in ad¬ 
dition to above. M\v idea was not to cul¬ 
tivate after first season, but pull out what 
weeds grew through the straw. I intend 
to let the chickens, about 500 liens, run 
through the patch, two acres, to keep slugs 
down. Will my plan answer? 
Ans. —This is a question I never heard 
asked before, neither did I ever see it 
tried, neither do I expect to see it on 
a two or more acre bed, although I am 
living where this crop is grown exten¬ 
sively and successfully. Theoretically I 
see no valid reason for its use. First 
the crop is one that pushes forward at 
the first appearance of Spring weather, 
hence it needs all the sunshine on the 
soil possible to get, to accelerate growth. 
Second, asparagus is a crop that re¬ 
sponds quickly and perceptibly to good 
and frequent tillage. It is quite notice¬ 
able that after each cultivation the stalks 
will be larger for a few cuttings. When 
this is done once a week a better har¬ 
vest is the result. Cultivation also lib¬ 
erates needed plant food, leaving less for 
the grower to purchase. It also pro¬ 
vides a mulch on the surface, keeping 
roots down where they should be, 
whereas the mulch would allow the roots 
to come to the very surface. Then if 
cultivation or ridging was practiced at 
all much damage would be done by cut¬ 
ting of roots. I would think also that 
mulching would cause the soil to become 
sour, a condition the asparagus plant 
does not like. The inquirer says he 
would sow broadcast “phosphate” and 
potash over his bed. I presume he means 
superphosphate, some form of available 
phosphoric acid. If this is used it 
should by all means be worked down 
near the roots. Soluble phosphoric acid 
is a substance that fixes shortly after, 
and where applied. If we put it on 
surface we naturally coax the root sys¬ 
tem toward that point, which should be 
avoided, and can be by turning it under 
and leaving it where the roots are and 
naturally should be. The root system 
of the asparagus plant naturally works 
toward the surface. It is the grower’s 
duty to use methods that will discour¬ 
age this so far as practicable. Mulch¬ 
ing in my belief would encourge rather 
than prevent it. I do not believe the 
plan a feasible one. c. c. hulsart. 
Barren Pear Trees. 
J. J. E., Ettricks, Va .—I have six stand¬ 
ard pear trees, large and thrifty. I do not 
know how old they are, nor the name of 
them. They stand in ground that is be¬ 
ing plowed and worked every year, and 
have been pruned. They blossom every 
year, but: never bear any fruit, or at least 
have not since I owned the farm, four years. 
What can I do to make them bear? 
Ans. —Without knowing the name of 
the variety of pear, or whether the six 
trees all belong to one variety, it is 
impossible to give even an intelligent 
guess as to what is the trouble, unless 
it is that the variety or varieties, as 
the case may be, are not self-fertile. 
There are some kinds of pears that re¬ 
quire the pollen of others to fertilize 
their flowers. In such cases the graft¬ 
ing of a few scions of the proper variety 
on the tops of the trees will remedy 
the trouble. It would do no harm to 
try this plan in this case, but without 
knowing the name or names of the trees 
there could be no certainty of graft¬ 
ing on the right variety. It would only 
be a case of luck if the right one was 
selected to produce the pollen that 
would be effective. I would suggest that 
the ground on which these unfruitful 
trees stand be allowed to go without 
tillage or other attention for a year or 
two, except that the weeds and grass 
be kept do\Yn by mowing. This may in¬ 
duce them to bear. 
CONGO 
QPpyeTIopse, Cumberland m 
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1 Am the Paint Man 
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AMERICAN MANURE SPREADERS 
A Manure Spreader is a machine that must first be constructed on right principles—and then built 
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American Harrow Co, 
IB 1 Hastings Street, Detroit, Michigan 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
