The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-08-01
ABOUT ASPARAGUS.
A VEGETABLE THAT ENJOYS A D.
SERVED POPULARITY.

1t Crows wild In some Places. but ~, w.
ishe- best In u Wei Kept Garden-r'.
Relation 10 the Famous A.phod.I-rb.
,-r..., r,, ,,.,,..
As a ticklcr Of the palate asparagus
has come down the ages with all the
weight of Greek and Roman appro, al.
Plato ate it by the platetul, and Aris-
tophanes, the humorist, regarded it as a
great aid IN digcsting the crank phi
losophers Of the day.
1t Is an odd fact that this culinary
plant is closely related to the fam gus
asphodel, which was supposed by the
ancients to be tie leading flower in the
gardens Of the clyslum, the Greek pur.
gatory or paradise. \ part Of the
quaintness Of this lies in tho fact that
the roots both possess purgdtiye quail
ties The roots and fruit of both were
formerly much used in medicine for
this purpose
According 10 the superstition of the
Romans, the names of the dead fed on
the roots OF the asphodeL They planted
1t, therefore, in and around the ceme-
teries. Hence to this day it covers with
ITS beautiful golden blossoms as profusc-
ly as dnndelions the Apulian hills and
valleys, and the sheep feed on it greed
lily.
1t belongs to the same natural order
of perennials, and the only difference
between the asparagus and the asphodel
appears to be i'll the fruit and the color
Of the flowers. So abundant is the wild
asparagus in the steppes of Russia that
cattle eat 1t like grass, Just as Italian
sheep devour its botanical cousin.
Not native to America, it has here,
however, been raised to its greatest per
fection as table delicacy. Perhaps no
other plant gives as good proof of what
cultivation can do In its wild state 1t
rarely grows higher than foot or thick
er than slate pencil. Culture has nul
tiplied its height by four and it, thick
ness nearly as much, adding also to its
fiayOr-not however, to its value - "a
food, for it still possesses very little nu-
tritive substance.
1t was once regarded as garden or
nament i'll this country, and i'll Now
England rural places especially was used
in making up bouquets. Dried sYeci-
mems can still be found in Maine and
Massachusetts parlors. Nor is MS,
which would strike those who knC it
only to eat it, as a curious old fash ned
taste, without good foundation ON
an artistic point of view, for the III
grown plant is remarkable for its eli.
cate elegance. 1t has many brau mes
loaded with fine, threadliko leaves md
small bell shaped flowers of gree lish
yellow lustor.
Its cXpansiveness is also remark. G,
and it has lent itself to modern hu or
as it did to ancient. One of the mos ie-
licious passages of Charles Dudley ar
ner's my Summer In a Garden" ellis
of his planting it, leaving it alou for
awhile and coming back to find H. 1 it
had overrun everything and threa ed
to turn his place into an asparagus q e.
The methods of cultivation and cut
ting of the young and tender shoc or
market before ramltication differ cry
little here and abroad except as to J. G.
Here II is generally not cut for the .u'st
two years Abroad 1t Is often ALI we'd
TO grow three or four, The life of i-Ant
properly cut and tended is dozen J, ars.
The beds are generally feet broad.
with trenches Z feet deep for the ma
nurlng. The plants are usually arran ged
from to 10 inches apart, and the olus-
ter OF heads that grows from each root
Is cut nom little below the surface OF
the soil
Asparagus possesses, III common with
asphodel and some score OF related
plants, a very peculiar crystalline chem
zeal called asparagine, and an extract
OF the shoots and roots is still admins
tered occasionally in dropsles as dlu-
retlc, and also as hthic to dissolve
calculi III the bladder 1t seems to be
unquestionably stimulus TO digestion
and is probably one OF the most whole
some adjuncts OF a dinner
The seeds i'll some parts of southern
Europe are dried and used as substi-
tute for coffee, which may yet come
into fashion here. A wild variety in
Spain and Portugal is considered the
crown OF salad, having pleasant bit
ter taste that gives not only hllip to
the tongue, but also 10 the appetite.
| in Jersey for the New York market in