1881 . ] 
ASPARAGUS AND SALT. 
91 
genera, require the prescription to be of a dif¬ 
ferent character, more of the fibre (which may 
not be introduced at all in the distichous¬ 
leaved species), and less of the sphagnum, with 
a fair proportion of the other two. The 
exact proportions needed is a question of prac¬ 
tical knowledge, which each grower must find 
out for himself, and act accordingly. There 
is no hard-and-fast line along which to compel 
the cultivator to go. A good deal must, after 
all, be left to judgment and the character of 
the fibre, on the one hand, or of the sphagnum 
on the other. If deep pots be used, that is, 
pots measuring in inches about as much in 
depth as in diameter, then a good foundation of 
potsherds and charcoal may, with profit, be in¬ 
troduced. All these aerial roots—that is, those 
roots which in a state of nature would be cling¬ 
ing to the bark of living or dead trees—do not 
dislike to interlace themselves among potsherds 
and charcoal; in fact, they prefer a surface of 
this kind to being compelled to get into a 
medium where decomposition is going on. 
Growers have observed this so prominently, 
that in order the better to preserve disintegra¬ 
tion, they now and then, with advantage, too, 
slip a junk of charcoal or a piece of potsherd 
into the body of fibre and sphagnum combined. 
Baskets, whether they be of teak or clay, in 
whatever form, need less of the crocks, as a 
better physical system is maintained through a 
more incisive current of air playing in and 
around them. In all cases of this kind, more 
artificial moisture must be supplied. Many an 
excellent “ start ” of a plant has been impaired, 
and eventually destroyed, for want of proper 
moisture appliances. Every beginner should 
note that it takes far more to water a set of 
plants suspended, than a similar set resting on 
tables or beds, and often grown in deep pots. 
And, therefore, sphagnum or fibre, or both 
combined, is more of a necessity for nicely 
balancing moisture in suspended plants than in 
those situated at lower levels, and with the 
moisture of floors, tables, &c., arising imme¬ 
diately about them.— James Anderson, Meadow 
Bank, Uddingstone, N.B. 
(To be continued.J 
ASPARAGUS AND SALT. 
UR experience has been gained on both 
heavy and light soils. On the former, 
the Asparagus would have been far 
better without the salt, notwithstanding its use¬ 
fulness in destroying weeds ; but on light, dry, 
sandy soil it has always been a decided advan¬ 
tage to the crops. When salt is used on heavy 
ground, the land becomes more solid, holds wet 
longer, and is manipulated with greater diffi¬ 
culty. Young plants and seeds have to struggle 
hard for life when in heavy soil which has 
been freely salted, even if it may have been 
applied years before. On a piece of ground a 
few yards from where I write, a quantity of 
manure, heavily charged with salt, was emptied 
inadvertently, and to this day, though five 
years have elapsed, the ground when turned up 
is very different to the rest, it being sodden and 
clinging to the spade like pitch. Returning to 
Asparagus, I remember a number of years ago, 
while my father was forming a new Asparagus 
ground, he used freely in the soil sand carted 
from the sea-shore, with quantities of seaweed, 
trenched it well into the ground with other 
loose material, such as old turf, charred wood, 
and good farm-yard manui’e, and the “ grass r! 
did exceedingly well in this preparation. There 
was, no doubt, plenty of salt in the sand and 
seaweed.—M. T., Impney. 
Your correspondent, “ H. K.,” at p. 77, 
condemns the uses of salt as a manure 
for this crop. He seems to overlook the 
nature of the plant, which is at all times 
a safe guide. There are acres of Asparagus 
growing round our shores in salt land, which 
is regularly covered by the tides. It is but a 
lame excuse to point to a poor example near 
the coast. Asparagus beds can be badly 
made in that position as well as in inland 
places. At the same time, there is abundant 
proof that the plant can be and is grown quite 
as good as the foreign produce in deep sandy 
land reclaimed from the sea, or where seaweed, 
&c., has been used in making the beds. 
It seems exceedingly preposterous that we 
must be told by every one who writes on this 
subject, how far superior the French system is 
to ours. Those who hold this opinion should 
first prove that it is the ‘ system ’ which gives 
these results, and not the inexhaustable saline 
properties of the soil. This is the same on the 
plains of the Danube, and in other parts of 
Europe, where the plant is grown successfully. 
Besides this, salt is a good safe manure for old 
Asparagus beds, and for many other plants as 
well. It is not, indeed, improbable, from so much 
attention having been drawn to this excellent 
vegetable of late, that its culture may reach such 
a position as to share in the encomiums passed 
on the ‘ system ’ pursued by the French. Those 
who have to make Asparagus beds inland, will 
find good deep trenching and plenty of good 
stable manure, night-soil, and sand, a good 
foundation.—J, Fleming, Cliveden , 
