The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1894-01-18
Eczema,
Weak
II omen,
Fever.


we would note that asparagus that is
all white to the tip is more tender than
that which has made green tip and is
only white below, while none is so ten
der as that which is entirely green.
When asparagus is to be grown In
quantity, it is always better to start
with the seed rather than to buy the
ordinary nursery-grown roots. When
well grown, one year old roots are to
be preferred to older ones, but the &C.
tual nursery-grown roots are so thickly
crowded that most people plant two
year old roots. 1 prefer to SOW the
seed thinly on very rich soil and give
careful culture for one season. Such
two year old roots of the nursery are
for any mode of subsequent planting.
The preparation of the land for aspara-
gus is most important matter, for the
plantation is to last many years and DO
subsequent manuring or culture can
fully atone for deficient preparation.
AS to varieties, my experience is that
one is as good as another. Fine aspara-
gus is wholly matter of rich feeding.
can take seed from the wild asparagus
and grow as fat stalks as from any
named seed. Asparagus being dinci-
Gus plant, and being grown entirely
from seed, purely distinct variety is
usually imaginary. The land for an
asparagus plantation should be light
and warm, for earliness is of prime i'm
portance. Above all it should be deep
and rich. No ordinary farm land can
at once be put in condition to grow the
best asparagus, no matter how we may
fertilize it. Therefore I prefer to use
land that has been for years cultivated
and MANFRED for market garden pur-
poses. and which has been thoroughly
and deeply worked. Having such
soil and plenty of old, rotten manure
we may proceed to plant for blanched
asparagus as follows: Run out deep
burrows in the well prepared land, five
feet apart, by going several times in
this furrow and then cleaning out with
shovel. This must be done as early
as possible in Spring, or, in this lati-
tude late Autumn Put liberal dress
ing OF fine compost in these trenches
and work it in with bull tongue or a
One-horse SubSOller.
Now set the roots, spreading them
out in their natural position. Draw in
just enough fine soil to cover the crowns
an inch or so, and tramp or roll tight
with a broad-tired wheel. When the
shoots grow, gradually work the soil
into the trenches until finally the soil
is level. We prefer to cultivate no
| crops at all between the rows. We
should have said that two feet should
be allowed between plants in the row.
| Cultivate clean all the season and fiat.
Clean off the dead tips at end of season,
| and at no stage Of growth allow any
| seed-bearing plants to mature seed.
| This not only weakens the plant, but
| will give trouble from Seeding plants.
| The second season cultivate as the
| first season, having given heavy ma
| nuring broadcast, or in the absence of
! manure, not less than 1000 to 1900
| pounds of high grade ammoniated fer
! tilizer. The followin Autumn give q
dressing of half a ton per acre of kainit
and manure again in late Winter or
early Spring. AS this season cutting
will begin, the first culture, before any
| growth begins, should consist in plow-
ing the land in sharp ridges over the
rows and cleaning out the dead burrows
between so as to drain all water away.
| These ridges warm up more quickly
than the fiat land and cause earlier
growth. The cutting should be done as
soon as the shoots crack the ground, by
running a long asparagus knife down
| near the crown of the root and cutting
without hurting the adjacent shoots,
cutting none that cannot be long enough
for the regular punching machine. The
French growers pull the soil away by
hand and pull the shoots without cut
ting, and then return the soil.
To grow green asparagus, we do not
| plant in deep trenches, and we can pro-
duce asparagus at an earlier date in the
season because the roots are nearer the
surface. Our practice is as follows: We
SOW the seed thickly, prefera bly, in Au-
tumn The land being well prepared,
| ~ %l,o1
| face, and the young plants are trans
planted with dibble, as soon as they
are about as long as ones finger. These
| young plants can be set very rapidly
and they live and grow off as readily as
any other Spring plants. We set them
rather closer in the row than when
planting roots in trenches, say 10 to &c
inches apart. Cultivation is perfectly
fiat. 1 once had asparagus fit to cut the
next season by this method, but it is
better to defer any cutting until the sec
ond year, and this will be year ahead
of roots set in trenches. These roots al
ramify near the surface and start very
early in Spring. The cutting, too, is
more simple, because the entire growth
or nearly all, is above ground, only {
slight ridge being made in Spring ovel
the rows. The stalks are cut off jus
below the surface. 10 my taste, this Il
by far the best asparagus, and wherever
buyers get accustomed TO it they ne
longer want the blanched article Thu
planting of such bed is a matter of fa1
less cost than the old method. OF course
the punching is always done by a ma
chine, making uniform punches, and i
is unnecessary to describe it here. Blu
MANY growers in ure the sale of thei1
asparagus by using poor ties of Irvine o.
old rags. Always use fiat ties of bas
bark or Raffia, and always put two tie!
On bunch. Cut the butts square ant
pack in crates just deep enough to stant
the punches on bed of fresh moss O.
grass.-W. F. MASSEY, N. c. Agricul
lural Experiment Station.
Cooling Milk.
What is the best and cheapest wy Of keer