The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-06-13
The Cultivation of Asparagus i

france.
In no other special culture do the French
surpass to such degree the rest Of the world
as In that Of asparagus. says the Garden
and Forest Not only is the best aspara-
| gus raised in France, better than the best of
any other country. but the quality of the
| French crop as found in the French m arkets
not only in Paris, but all over the country,
is far superior in quality to the asparagus
sold in the markets of other countries.
The excellence of French asparagus is
secured by the most careful aud systematic
cultivation, and as the French methods
| differ 80 materially from ours, especially in
the practice of allowing the crowns to freeze
In winter. while in this country it is an
| almost universal custom to protect them
by heavy mulch OF manure, and in the
summer fertilization Of the plants, that we
| have asked Nj. Henri l.. de Vilmrin, who
speaks of French vegetables and French
methods of cultivation with the fullest
| knowledge of the subject and the highest
authority, to describe for the benefit of our
readers the methods by which the best
French asparagus is produced. The follow
ing description from his pen will be read
| with interest by American gardeners:
Whatever is worth doing at all is worth
doing we'll To no subject can that old say
ing be more justly applied than to aspara-
| gus growing, as not only Is proper care
necessary condition of success, but the
| superiority Of we'll grown to poorly grown
produce is perhaps greater in the case of
| asparagus than in any other vegetable.
Both the eating quality and the market
| value OF bunch of asparagus increases very
| rapidly with the size and beauty of the indi-
| vidual shoots that go to form it.
Asparagus of1cinalis, native of South
| western Europe, is perfectly hardy all
through France and Great Britain, and
will prove SO over nearly the whole Of the
United States, where, with proper care,
it should be possible to raise as fine speci-
mems as any that are grown in Europe. In
fact, asparagus being a spring vegetable,
| the crop can be ready and even over every
where before the summer heat and drought
set in.
Planting the roots far apart and not too
deep, aud then manuring heavily and re-
peatedly, are the great points in the most
successful asparagus gardens in France, and
these points are, In my opinion, those that
need TO be brought most forcibly before the
American asparagus growers.
Any soil which is not stiff, adhesive clay
or pure, dry chalk can be rendered proper
for asparagus culture by draining, trench
ing and manuring. 1t is necessary that a
depth Of from one foot to a foot and half
of perfectly drained soil be secured under
the surface, but this is amply sufficient,
since asparagus develops no tsp,roots.
Light. sandy soil is quite good if properly
mauured.
In France it is usual to trench and manure
in the fall with common stable manure the
plot which is to be planted out to asparagus
in the spring. In very light soil cow mas
nure is preferred. IN March the rows or
beds are marked out, the position of each
set being indicated by small stick placed
in the ground. One or two year-old seed
lings are generally used as sets. They are
never planted at less distance than two
feet each way. For exhibition purposes
plants are set three and even four feet
apart.
At the place where each little stick stood
small coHical heap of compost or mold
made, and the center Of the crown of the set
is placed on top of it, the fieshy roots being
spread, radiating in all directions down the
sides of the small hill. The roots are then
covered with additional compost or mold,
one or two large handfuls being used on
each set; the roots only and not the crown,
beng so covered, the hills are made larger,
but not higher, by the process. Loose soil
is then filed in between the hills and level
with the crowns of the sets. This soil has
been prepared by scraping the surface of
the beds three to four inches deep before
marking out the place for the sets, and by
| heaping the loose soil in the walks between
the beds or the rows
After the first summer and fall, when
only wedding, aud, perhaps rarely, watering
has to be done, the surface soil is in the
month of October scraped off between the
| plants and made into ridge in the walks,
| as was done before planting. The roots are
| by this means brought close to the surface
| and submitted to the action of cold air and
frost, which, at least in Europe, seem to
benefit them rather than otherwise. Only
oh uubn Y1n
system would be equally advisable for
America, where the winters are so much
| colder.
Manure is spread the second spring on the
roots mostly III the shape Of mold from
town scrapings or from decomposed stable
manure. Common salt may be added with
good results IN places where it is deficient
| in the SOIL Then the loose soil is again
| filed IN on top of the manure and between
the plants so as to make the surface even.
| The next year the same processes are re-
| peated, but the loose soil is heaped to a
| greater hight, in a conical hill one foot
| high, over each asparagus plant, as from
this, the third spring, one or two shoots can
| be cut from each well-estabished plant. The
hill formed on top of the crown is intended
| to bleach the shoots and to force them to
became longer. After the cutting season is
over (which should be about Nav Is on the
year Of the maiden crop, and June Is on
| succeeding years. the mounds OF soil are TO
a great extent scattered and spread in be-
tween the plants, ali the shoots produced
later being allowed to grow and develop
! into leafed stems.
| Afterward the routine of the cultivation
remains the same, manure being added at
least every second year. and either in the
fall. IN winter or in early spring, in fact, at
any period between the time when the SUR
| face soil is scraped out and the time for
spreading is on again. The number and
! beauty OF the shoots go on increasing for
| the three or four first crop years, and then
the plantation can be kept at its best for
ave or six years more by liberal and re-
peated manuring.