Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-06-26
ABOUT ASPARAGUS.
A VEGETABLE THAT ENJOYS A DE-
SERVED POPULARITY.

It Grows WILD In some Places, but Flour
ishes Best In n Well Kept Garden-Its
Relation to tho Famous Asphodel-The
Seeds Used For Coffee.
AS ticker of the palate asparagus
has come down the ages with all the
weight of Greek and Roman approval.
Plato ate it by the plateful, and Arts
tophaneS, the humorist, regarded 1t rs a
great aid in digesting the crank phi
loSophers of the day.
1t is an odd fact that this culinary
plant is closely related 10 the famous
asphodel, which was supposed by the
ancients to be the leading flower in the
gardens Of the elysium, the Greek pur-
gatory or paradise. \ part of the
QuaintneSs of this lies in the fact that
the roots both possess purgative quail
ties The roots and fruit of both We're
formerly much used in medicine for
this purpose
According TO the superstition of the
Romans the names of the dead fed ON
the roots of the aSphodel. They planted
il, therefore in and around the ceme-
terieS Hence 10 this day it covers with
its beautiful golden blossoms as profuse-
" rs dandelions 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 10 be in the fruit and the color
of the flowers. So abundant is the wild
asparagus in the steppes Of Russia that
cattle eat il like grass, just rs Italian
sheep devour its botanical cousin.
Not native 10 America, it has here.
however, been raised TO its greatest per-
lection us u table delicacy. Perhaps no
other plant gives us good proof of what
cultivation can do. In its wild state it
rarely grows higher than q foot or thick
er than q slate pencil. Culture has mul
tiplied its height by four and its thick
ness nearly as much, adding also to its
flavor-not, however, to its value rs u
food, for it still possesses very little nu-
tritiye substance.
1t was once regarded rs a garden or
nament in this country, and in New
England rural places especially was used
in making up bouquets. Dried speci
lQ0IlS sui w lOlllNl III &hAAAllS t1A4A
Massachusetts, parlOrs. Nor is this,
which would strike those who know it
only TO eat it, rs n curious old fashioned
taste, without good foundation from
an artistic point of view, for the full
grown plant is remarkable for its deli
cate elegance 1t has many branches
loaded with fine, threadlike leaves and
small bell shaped flowers of a greeniSh
yellow lustcr.
Its cxpanSiveneSs is also remarkable,
and it has lent itself to modern humor
rs it did TO ancient. One of the most de-
licious passages of Charles Dudley War
ncr's My Summer In Garden" tells
OF his planting it leaving 1t alone for
awhile and coming back 70 find that 1t
had ovcrrun everything and threatened
to turn his place into an asparagus grove.
The methods of cultivation and cut
ting of the young and tender shoots ful
market before ramification differ very
little here and abroad except rs to time.
Here it is generally not cut for the first
two years. Abroad ii is often allowed
10 grow three or four. The life of plant
properly cut and tended is n dozen years
The beds are generally feet broad,
with trenches 81, feet deep for the ma-
nuring. The plants are usually arranged
from & 10 10 inches apart, and the clus-
ter of heads that grows from each root
is cut from little below the surface of
the soil.
Asparagus possesses, i'll common with
aSphudel and some score of related
plants. a very peculiar crystalline chem
aud
of the shoots and roots is still admins
tered occasionally IN dropSies as q diu-
rctic, and also rs hthic to dissolve
calculi in the bladder. 1t seems to be
unquestionably a stimulus to digestion
and is probably one of the most whole
some adjuncts of a dinner.
The seeds in some parts of southern
Europe are dried and used as q substi-
tute for coffee, which may yet come
into fashion here a wild variety in
Spain and Portugal is considered the
crown of a salad, having pleasant bit
tc- taste that gives not only FLIP to
the tongue but also TO the appetite
The amount raised in Staten Island and
in jersey for the New York market in
creaScs markedly every year, and the
quality seems to keep pace with the
quantity.
The ways Of cooking and serving it
are likewise ON the increase Asparagus
ON toast, asparagus salads, asparagus
patticS, sauces and even soups, plain
and in combination with many other
vegetables indicate by their variety
the favor it has attained.
y very common mistake, however,
that Is made in preparing it is to cook
il whole. After being delicately
washed. it should be cut in half, and
the lowest part should be cooked for
three-quartcrS of an hour. Then add
the tops and cook for 10 or 10 minutes.
BY this method both parts become Just
right The stalk is tender throughout
and the tops do not fall all to pieces.
So called PrusSian asparagus, an al
lied plant. of which the spikes are eat
en- in some places, is not wholesome,
and canned asparagus seems to lack not
only flavor, but the medicinal virtues
of the fresh.-Ncw York World.
Simple
In the studio of one of our leading
R a S, who was recently showing his