June  29,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
529 
GIGANTIC!  ASPARAGUS. 
I  HAVE  been  much  interested  in  the  particulars  given  by  “  W.  G.,’’  on  page  491,  June  15th,  of 
the  large  Asparagus  sold  by  j\lr.  Howell  at  Birmingham,  and  grown  at  Evesham.  Asparagus  is  largely 
and  well  (ultivated  in  that  part  of  Worcestershire,  and  the  area  devoted  to  its  culture  increases  each  year. 
Many  hundreds  of  acres  of  Asparagus  are  grown  within  a  radius  of  four  miles  of  Evesham,  and 
it  has  become  one  of  the  most  imjrortant  crops  ot  the  district. 
On  reading  the  paragraph  above  referred  to  I  asked  myself  this  question :  Did  the  bundles 
contain  the  exact  number  of  100  heads,  as  printed,  or  did  they  contain  the  usual  Evesham  market 
gardeners  “hundred?”  which  is  a  distinction  with  a  very  great  difference,  his  “hundred” 
of  Asparagus  being  not  less  than  120 'he ids. 
The  following  facts  will  show  that  almost  anyone  may  easily  grow  Asparagus  of  large 
size  if  he  will  exercise  discretion  in  the  selection  of  crowns,  and  provide  means  for  the 
full  development  of  the  plants. 
On  April  17th,  189G,  I  sowed  seeds  of  Connover’s  Colossal  2  inches  apart  in 
drills  9  inches  asunder.  The  plants  produced  by  the  seed  were  lifted  on  April  8th, 
1897,  sorted,  and  separated  into  two  divisions ;  those  producing  two  or  three 
strong  shoots  avere  placed  together,  and  those  having  numerous  and  weaker 
growths  were  thrown  to  the  rubbish  heap. 
The  strong  plants  were  planted  2  feet  apart  in  rows  3  feet  asunder.  They 
were  allowed  to  grow  without  manure  during  1897  and  1898,  the 
ground  being  old — though  not  good — pasture  just  broken  up  two  spits 
deep.  Manure  was  applied  to  the  Asparagus  January  10th,  1899.  A 
crop  of  Cabbage  was  taken  from  between  the  rows  of  Asparagus  in  18J 
and  in  1898  Cos  Lettuce  was  grown  between  the  rows. 
This  year  I  commenced  cutting  Asparagus  cn  April  29th, 
or  exactly  three  ymars  and  twelve  days  after  sowing  the  seed. 
There  are  ten  rows,  each  53  feet  long.  The  following  are  the 
weights  of  six  bundles,  twenty-five  “  heads  ”  in  each 
bundle  respectively  : — 1  lb.  12  oz.,  2  lb.  2  oz.,  2  lb.  4  oz., 
2  lb,  12  oz.,  3  lb.  2  oz.,  and  3  lb.  8  oz.  Many  of  the 
shoots  left  to  grow  are  now  3  to  3|  inches  in  circum¬ 
ference  just  above  the  soil,  the  largest  being 
They  were  cut 
at  a  length  of 
about  15  inches ; 
by  earthing  they 
might  have  been 
cut  longer,  and  conse¬ 
quently  heavier.  In 
fig.  118  is  shown  one  of 
the  Droit wich  heads,  its 
exact  thickue.'^s  ;  but,  for  obvious 
reasons,  3  inches  shorter  than  the 
specimen.  By  far  the  greater 
piortion  of  the  head  was,  as  may 
he  seen,  green,  tender  and  eatable,  very 
little  indeed  of  the  portion  shown  being 
otherwise.  Judging  by  the  “  weight  for 
age  ”  standard  we  have  no  precise  data 
showing  better  results  than  this,  and 
3f  inches  in  circumference. — J.  Udale 
[It  will  be  conceded  that  twenty-five  heads 
of  Asparagus,  weighing  31  lbs.,  within  a  fort¬ 
night  over  three  years  after  the  seeds 
were  sown  that  produced  the  plants  is 
excellent  work,  as  it  is  equivalent  to 
16J  lbs.  for  an  Evesham  bundle  of  120 
heads.  Some  of  the  Evesham  bundles 
were  much  larger;  the  heaviest  recorded 
on  page  491  being  25^  lbs.,  and 
the  stems  20  inches  in  length — 
the  lightest  bundle  there  men¬ 
tioned  being  14  lbs.  But  the 
produce  was  “grown  for  prizes,” 
and  the  heads,  perhaps, 
chosen  from  a  large  area. 
Those  at  Droitwich  were 
not  grown  for 
showieg,  and 
had  no  special 
attention  given 
to  them  for  any 
such  purpose. 
the  cultivator  is  entitled  to  great  credit 
for  what  he  has  accomplished. 
TMr.  Udale  has  prevented  much  damage  from 
the  Asparagus  beetle  by  early  action  in  catching 
the  marauders  and  crushing  their  eggs.  lie 
says  the  beetles  are  easily  caught  whilst  the 
Asparagus  is  young,  but  when  it  has  come  bi-anched  are 
not  so  readily  dealt  with.  He  caught  many  cn  1st  June, 
and  others  since,  by  holding  a  half-pint  vessel  containing 
a  little  tar  under  them,  so  that  if  they  drop  to  evade 
his  fingers  they  are  caught  just  as  well.  He  says  “  it  is 
amusing  to  see  them  dodge  round  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
stern  to  escape  the  eyes  of  the  observer,  like  a  squirrel  in  a 
tree.”  His  ten  rows,  each  53  feet  long,  were  examined  in  forty 
minutes,  and  he  thinks  boys  might  be  profitably  employed 
early  in  the  season  in  large  Asparagus  growing  districts,  such 
as  Evesham,  for  catching  the  beetles,  and  thus  preventing  the  depo¬ 
sition  of  eggs.  This  destructive  erremy  was  figured  in  the  Journal  of 
Jlorticulture  of  August  4th  last  year.] 
JUNE  IRISES. 
The  representative  collection  of  Iris  germanica  at  Dornden,  Dublin,  was 
at  its  best  when  we  caught  friend  Carroll,  waterpot  in  hand,  anticipating  the 
w'auts  of  a  tropical  June  day.  He  is  proud  of  his  Irises,  and,  judging  by  many  who 
come  to  see  them  in  their  glory,  they  are  the  pride  of  Dublin  county.  Beautiful  they 
were,  certainly,  ere  the  glistening  dewdrops  had  been  dispersed  frean  the  grass  walk 
on  each  side  of  which  the  borders  stretch.  Hundreds,  possibly  thousands,  of  spikes  in 
their  prime  crowned  the  huge  clumps,  man\'  of  which  would  measure  G  feet  across. 
Some  kinds  are  such  as  are  commonly  seen  at  this  season,  others  rarer,  and  rival  Orchids  in 
their  quaintness  of  form  and  diversity  of  colour. 
Unfortunately  some  of  the  most  striking  varieties  could  not  be  named,  but  the  great 
pallida,  flaunting  its  big  blooms  of  lavender  blue,  s'ands  pre-eminent  as  the  giant  of  the  tribe. 
Victorine  is  a  glorious  Iris,  worthy  of  being  compared  to  Lselia  purpurata  in  chasteness  and 
harmony  of  colour.  Prominent  is  Princess  of  Wales,  a  purer  white  form  of  albicans.  Florentina 
(which  yields  the  orris  root  of  ccmmerce)  had  flowered  profusely,  one  clump  having  borne  seventy-five 
spikes.  Queen  of  the  May  and  Madame  Chereau,  the  latter  with  stiff-stemmed  spikes  unworthy  of 
its  graceful  blooms,  w’ere  abundantly  in  evidence.  Adonis  is  a  good  yellowy  and  Zebra  a  dark,  distinct- 
looking  variety  ap2)ropriately  named.  The  Elder-scented  Sambusa  with  its  smoked  ]ietals  is  a  quaint 
novelty,  but  seme  of  the  most  attractive  varieties,  as  pieviously  remarked,  could  not  be  named. 
