The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-27
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MH aAs @ARBgH
A POINT IN ASPARAGUS CULTURE


tIreiy of Male Asparagus PIants9
Mr.. Green, of the Ohio experiment
station, reports that male plants of as
paragus proved about so per cent. more
productive than the female, and the
shoots, being larger, have u greater mar
ket value. Among prominent agricul
turists commenting in The Rural New
Yorker upon the question whether IL
would pay to secure o field of male as.
paragus plants exclusively Mr.. Z. S.
Golf. Of the Wisconsin experiment sta.
ton, says: "If the results obtained by
Mr.. Green can be depended upon for ali
plantations of asparagus, it seems to me
that all growers of this vegetable To-
Gated upon high priced land can afford
the extra labor required to grow exclu.
sively male plants.
"For such plantations the seedlings
could be grown in the country, where
land is cheap, and set out closely, where
they could remain until their character
can be determined, when the male plants
could be assorted out and removed to
their permanent place. think it may
fairly be questioned if all plantations OF
asparagus would show so marked q diff.
ference in favor of the male plants as
did Mr.. Green's. In O trial conducted
by myself in 1889, on garden bed, the
male plants showed no appreciable nd.
vantage in productiveness. The report
of this trial has not been published be
cause the bed was not large one and
the plants were rather uneven"
Mr.. w. M. Munson, of the Maine sta,
ton, says: "In my opinion the extra
trouble of selecting male plants would
be justified. There is certainly marked
difference in the yield of male and fe.
male plants, and the best is never toe
good"
J. M. Smith says: "The only safe way
know of to distinguish the male from
the female plants would be to let both
grow in the seed beds for at least two
years, for the plants rarely bear seeds
the first year, and then mark the sexes
in such q way that each can be known
If by this means we get nice bed OF
pure staminate plants, it is said that nc
seeds will come up in the spring, an.
noying us with q great host of young
plants, and these must be destroyed OF
the bearing beds will be ruined within
q few years.
"After have finished cutting for the
season, my beds make a tremendous
growth and large crop of seed ripens
every fall. This growth is all allowed
to remain on the ground during the
winter, as it is the most perfect mulch
have ever seen. After taking off and
burning the tops the beds get very
heavy dressing Of manure, which is
worked in, care being taken not to dis
turb the roots, and the beds are ready
for their seasons work. After time
the weeds begin to como up, and as the
weather becomes warmer the young
plants from the seeds left upon the beds
start also, and both must be destroyed
The best way to do this is to set some
good, careful men at work with broad
hoes, just after we have cut the beds
very close. They destroy the weeds and
the young asparagus plants at the same
time.
1--WE finished hoeing our beds on June
9, and doubt very much whether it has
cost me one dollar extra to destroy the
young asparagus plants with the weeds
and do not remember ever to have found
it necessary to go over the beds on pur.
pose to destroy the young plants. dc
not believe that could make any money
by going to the trouble and expense OF
making beds Of purely male plants. If
| had thought so-and l have thought
the matter over many times-I would
certainly have had beds of them a mum.
Der of years ago."