CHAPTER IX. 
ASPARAGUS CULTURE. 
A SPARAGUS officinalis, belongs to the Liliaceae 
Family. 
Asparagus is a native of Europe and Asia and has 
been cultivated for 2,000 years or more. It was grown by 
the Greeks and Romans. The so-called leaves are leaf¬ 
like branches. The true leaves are scales and in the axils 
of these branches arise. 
Asparagus is a rugged plant and will live in most any 
soil. It does best on well-drained, well-manured, and 
well-tilled soil and for an early crop the land selected 
should be a warm loam with a southern exposure, if pos¬ 
sible. Bulky manures should be used at the start to fur¬ 
nish plenty of vegetable matter. Eater use manures rich 
in nitrogen and potash. 
Plant the seed thinly in rows one to three feet apart as 
early as the ground can be worked easily. In setting the 
new beds use strong, one-year old plants. 
FOR THE GARDEN BED. 
Dig out the space to be devoted to asparagus to a 
depth of eighteen or more inches. Put six or eight inches 
of coarse manure or compost into the bottom and spade it 
in well. The top of the bed will then be about ten inches 
lower.than the surrounding garden. 
Take the freshly dug roots, and set them on a little 
mound one foot apart each way, spreading the roots as they 
were growing in the seed bed. Fill in over the roots with 
two or three inches of loose, rich soil. When the plants 
start, fill in gradually until level. In the fall as soon as 
the tops begin to turn brown, cut them and burn them. 
Cover the beds in winter with a liberal supply of strawy 
This should be turned under by shallow spad- 
manure. 
