THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 14. 
354 
plant. Some have recommended sulphur to be rubbed I 
into the seed before sowing, but this is not always effec- i 
! tual, and heavy rains afterwards neutralize its effects. 
A vigorous growth is of more consequence, as that 
sometimes outgrows the attacks of its enemies before 
they are able to do it any vital harm. 
Erorn the middle of July to the end of August 
various other crops may be sown. Endive may be sown i 
in quautity during July; and plantations made in 1 
August and September. Winter Onions may also be i 
i sown about the middle or third week in August. Spinach i 
to stand the winter had better be later ; and the last 
j sowing of Lettuce, with Cauliflower, to stand over winter, j 
j need not be sown until the first of September; but 
j Lettuce may also be sown before that time, as they are , 
wanted all through the season. 
Various crops will also require planting out now, as 
Celery for main crop, the various Brocolis, Brussels i 
Sprouts, and other winter greens of several kinds; and a 
good breadth of Turnips ought also to be sown two or 
three times, the last time towards the end of August; 
in a usual way, the best and richest ground is not the 
best for winter Turnips for culinary purposes, as they 1 
are more spongy and soft than when grown on stiff 
loam, or dry, poor ground; they also stand the winter 
better when not in a too-luxuriant position; however, 
the situation ought to be open and free from trees. 
Towards the end of July, or beginning of August, is 
a very good time to take a retrospective as well as a 
prospective view of all things connected with gardening ; 
and if every thing be done, and seemingly in a promising 
way, which the season requires up to this time, there is ; 
not so much likelihood of getting behind agaiu as there ; 
was at an earlier period ; for although many important i 
jobs still remain to be done during the season, yet if all j 
oe none up to this time which can oe done, those 1 
afterwards are more in the shape of ordinary routine. 1 
At this time of the year a garden always presents, or 
ought to present, a greater abundance of produce than at 1 
any other period. Small fruits of various kinds, in full 
perfection, and a great profusion of vegetables, greet the 
eye of the visitor on all directions, unless it be one of ' 
those unfortunate gardens which exist in some places, 
where a dry, barren soil is incapable of resisting the 
parching droughts of a warm summer; in such places 
mildewed Peas, Cabbage-worts blue, and Onions the 
same sickly tint, all betoken that some extensive 
alterations are necessary with the soil to enable it to resist 
such a season, as it may, with perfect propriety, be called ; 
a “good one” in a national point of view, because a 
dry, sunny summer is generally a prolific one, in so far as J 
! regards the most important products of the earth. 
I In concluding this chapter of sundries, I may add, 
I that the total distinction of weeds is also indispensable 
during the hot, sunny weather of this month; let this, 
therefore, be attended to without delay, for much of the 
general good appearauce of a garden depends on the 
absence of weeds and other litter. Crops, also, that 
have ceased to be useful ought also to be cleared away, 
and the whole ground ought to assume that air of 
neatness, without which good cultivation loses much 
i of its value. Digging vacant spaces for other crops 
must at all times be done; but it is a wrong notion 
I that new dug ground is the best for seeds vegetating 
| upon ; on the contrary, that which has been exposed 
' some time to the action of the atmosphere is often best; 
and as it is important, in all cases, to hasten the 
germination of important crops, this had better be 
borne in mind at the proper time.—J. R. 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
ASPARAGUS. 
When Philip Fennel came to be my gardener, thirty-three 
years ago, he was then a young man, and his head was tilled 
with all sorts of curious notions about gardening matters, 
which lie had picked up from his father arid grandfather, 
■who had been in the profession before him. Among other 
things, he would insist that there were three or four different 
sorts of Asparagus; that the Battersea was the white, the 
Gravesend the green, and the Giant or Grayson’s the largest. 
I did not know so much about gardening then as I do now, 
and leaving the matter entirely in his hands, I allowed him 
to order from the seedsrnau all three of these sorts, that I 
might judge which was the best, or that I might enjoy the 
different qualities of each. I soon found, however, that 
there was no difference between them, notwithstanding all 
Philip’s eloquence to endeavour to induce me as well as him¬ 
self to the contrary. The fact is, the growers at Gravesend 
used formerly to allow their Asparagus t<> grow longer, and, 
consequently, to have more green upon it than the London 
gardeners; and, therefore, that from Gravesend always had 
the preference. The Battersea , being grown as it still is, 
with very little green upon it, was considered a distinct sort; 
and the Giant or Grayson’s, being cultivated on very deep 
and rich soil, attained an immense size, and hence the origin 
of that distinction ; but they are, in reality, identical, and the 
only apparent difference between them is produced by culti¬ 
vation. 
Asparagus delights in a deep, rich, and light soil, and, 
consequently, the alluvial deposits of the Thames at Batter¬ 
sea, Mortlake, and Gravesend, furnish the finest productions 
of that vegetable which are. brought to the London market. 
The object of the cultivator should, therefore, be to imitate 
this description of soil, as much as possible, by artificial 
means. For this purpose, the ground should be trenched 
at least two feet deep, and thoroughly incorporated with an 
abundant supply of well-decomposed stable-manure—that 
from old hotbeds, or any of a similar character, being the 
best. This should be done early in spring. The two modes 
of furnishing an asparagus-bed are by seed and by plants; 
but as the former is the preferable, I shall confine my direc¬ 
tions chiefly to it, as producing the finest shoots, though not 
quite so early as from plants. 
The ground being prepared as directed above, early in 
March lay out the bed four feet and a half wide, and of any 
length that may be convenient. Let a stout stake, three 
feet long, be driven down at each of the four corners of the 
bed, to determine its boundaries; then stretch a line round 
these four stakes, and with a spade notch out on the inside 
of the line the form of the bed; being careful not to tread 
on any portion of the soil which is within the confines of 
the line, stir the surface within the line, breaking all 
lumps, and rendering it fine and mellow. Then lay down 
the line nine inches from each margin lengthways, and this 
will indicate the position of the two outside rows. Take 
one row, beginning at nine inches from the end, and with 
the hand form a small basin an inch deep ; in this basin 
place three plump, liealthy-looking seeds, an inch apart from 
each other, and there leave them, uncovered. At a distance 
of one foot from this small basin, form another similar to 
it, in which drop three other seeds, as in the former, and so 
proceed, at distances of a foot apart along the row, till it is 
completed, leaving a clear space of nine inches between the 
last basin and the margin of the bed. Proceed with the 
other outside row’in the same way; and when that is finished 
move the lines, and mark out two other rows in the centre 
of the bed, each one foot apart from that on the outside of 
it, and treat them in the same way as the others, and then 
the bed will have been sown. Cover the seeds with some 
fine mould, about three-quarters of an inch thick, ami if the 
weather should continue dry, give occasional waterings till 
the seeds have vegetated. As the plants grow’, add a little 
more earth to them, and when they are about three inches 
high, draw out from each basin all except oue plant, leaving 
only the strongest, and then add one inch more earth all 
over the bed. All that will he necessary during the first 
season will be to keep them free from weeds. In the end 
of October, or beginning of November, when the stalks have 
