The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-08-07
EN- BANKME NTS.

How Their Washing Away May Be Pre-
vented-The Use of Asparagus Advised.
Various devices have been tried to
prevent the washing away of railroad
entertainments, cutting sides and other
unsodded soil surfaces by freshets and
heavy rain torrents but no complete
preventive has yet been discovered that
[ am aware of. have seen the various
sorts of willows tried, but the roots of
the willows are too coarse to prevent
small currents passing between them
under the main stem. Brush laid at
the bottom of gulleys and washouts has
been tried but it rots in such situations,
though it would last several years if
constantly submerged. Of various sorts
of grasses tried to prevent exposed sur
faces from washing away, a Canadian
friend tells me that blue grass, with it's
numerous interlacing roots, is the best
to prevent washing away that he has
found, after much experimenting in
this matter.
len or dozen years ago / noticed
that the roots of asparagus penetrated
very deep, throwing out many fine roots
as laterals, corresponding to the nu-
merous, fine, thread-like branches de-
veloped in its top growth. The long
roots of this plant penetrate two to four
feet deep and ranlify to as wide an ex-
tent. Thus, when the plants are thick,
asparagus supplies interlacing roots in
great abundance, and by seeding thick
this plant can be easily made to fill the
soil with roots sufficiently so to pre-
vent any small currents from washing
the soil from among them. AS fine,
deep growing roots in abundance can
be secured by thick seeding, it appears
that in given quantity of soil-as a
cubic yard-as many and as fine roots
as may be desired are easily obtainable.
1t is true blue grass makes an excellent
sod, but it does not root half as deep as
asparagus, is not so easy to handle, and
blue grass seed can only be seeded on
the surface and raked in or covered
with hand-harrow.
Asparagus seed can be dibbled in
very rapidly and covered with garden
rake, as follows: Make small harrow
frame, with the beams one and one-half
inches apart, with five or six beams Sc
cured by cross-ties. In these beams
wood teeth, similar to hay-rake teeth,
three-quarters of an inch thick, can be
inserted five or six inches apart with
suitable handle. This dibbler can be
used to make twenty-five holes one inch
deep every time it is set down. In this
way large surface of bare soil, on the
sides of a railway embankment or cut
ting, for instance, can be rapidly per-
meated with shallow holes, ready to re-
ceiye the asparagus seed. The area to
be planted being made ready by the
dibbler. sow the seed by hand, and
enough of it will drop in or be raked
into the shallow holes to secure good
stand 1t should De carefully covered
with garden-rake and the surface
smoothed with the back of large
shovel or large piece of board with a
handle ON, or with garden-roller OF
course seed-drill can be used, if at
hand, the method suggested being for
cases where no drill IS available. II
asparagus seed be planted early in
spring it will root deeply by midsum-
AiCI+ ~ do AOt " DS liz lI0u Uy QTOuglb,
and this plant is so hardy that it has
not been injured even by the severity OF
last winter.
OF course any slopes on steep sur
faces, such as the banks of small
streams. or railway cuttings and en-
bankments, should be prepared by fill
ing holes, small wash. outs, ETC., and
smoothing over before dibbling or seed
ing. and it appears to the writer that a
miniature forest of green plants, COM
pletely filling the soil with roots and
keeping it moist BY shading, would give
a beautiful yernal aspect during much
of the summer, while permanent Y pre-
venting the dal aage. Ioa0a Cor. Corr
try Gesss ensaf1