Tumbledown Farm .9 Acres (give or take an acre or two)

Fig. 26.-ASPARAGUS BEETLE.

EXCERPT: Asparagus being a hardy perennial plant, that may be grown on the same ground for twenty years without re­newal, special care is required in forming the beds in which it is to grow.

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CHAPTER XVII.
VEGETABLES, THEIR VARIETIES AND CUL­TIVATION.

In describing the modes of cultivating the different va­rieties of vegetables, I shall notice at length only those of the most importance, and the most profitable for market purposes, while for those of less value as market crops, the directions for culture will be such as are adapted to private gardens only.

A limited number of kinds will be described, and such only as our experience has shown to possess the greatest earliness and productiveness. Nothing is more perplexing to the beginner, than to be bewildered by descriptions of, perhaps twenty, so-called varieties of a vegetable, that per­haps, in reality, does not embrace four distinct kinds. For example, in early Cabbages, there are some hundred or more varieties described; yet we find, after having experi­mented with some scores of kinds in our time, there is one variety more profitable to grow than any other, viz, the Jersey Wakefield, which is grown in this locality to

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the exclusion of all others. However, some kinds are found to do better in some localities than in others, hence, as in fruits, no particular variety should be claimed to be universally the best.

ASPARAGUS. (Asparagus officinalis.)

Asparagus being a hardy perennial plant, that may be grown on the same ground for twenty years without re­newal, special care is required in forming the beds in which it is to grow. This is done sometimes by trench­ing to the depth of two or three feet, mixing each layer of soil, as turned over, with two or three inches of well rotted manure; but for market purposes, on a large scale, trenching is seldom resorted to; deep and thorough pul­verizing by the plow and subsoiler serving instead. The soil best suited for Asparagus is a deep and rather sandy loam, such as is often to he found on the borders of mead­ows or on the margins of lakes--land formed by the wash­ings of the higher grounds, and known as alluvial.

VARIETIES.

There is considerable difference of opinion concerning varieties. Some contending that there are five or six, and others that there is only one variety, which is sometimes modified by differences of soil or climate. In this latter opinion we entirely coincide, believing that the Asparagus officinalis of our gardens is confined to only one variety, and that the so-called "Giant" can be made gigantic or otherwise, just as we will it, and that the "pur­ple top" variety will become a "green top" whenever the composition of the soil is not of the kind to develop the purple, and vice versa. All practical gardeners know how differently soil and climate change the appearance of the

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same variety. Seeds of Cabbage, taken from the same bag and sown at the same time, but planted out in soils of light sandy loam, heavy clayey loam, and peat or leaf-mold, will show such marked differences when at matu­rity, as easily to be pronounced distinct sorts. This, no doubt, is the reason why the multitude of varieties, of all vegetables, when planted side by side to test them, are so wonderfully reduced in number.

PROPAGATION.

Asparagus is propagated by seed which is sown in spring, as soon as the soil will admit of working, which should be prepared, by being thoroughly pul­verized, and enriched with well-rotted manure. The seed is sown in rows 1 foot apart, and if kept carefully hoed, and clear from weeds, the plants will be in fine condition to plant out the succeeding spring. Strict attention to this will save a year in time; for if the seed bed has been neglected, it will take two years to get the plants as large as they would be in one year, if they had been properly cared for. In consequence of this very common neglect of proper cultivation of the seed bed, it is an almost uni­versal impression that the plants must be two or three years old before planting. This is undoubtedly an error, for almost all large growers for market purposes, in the neighborhood of New York, invariably plant one-year old plants, and count on marketing a crop the third spring from the time of sowing. One pound of seed will pro­duce about 3000 plants; and to plant an acre of Asparagus requires from 15,000 to 20,000 plants.

PLANTING.

The bed being prepared as previously de­scribed, planting may be done any time for six or eight weeks from the opening of spring ; the plant, from its pecu-

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liar succulent roots, is less susceptible of injury from late planting than most other vegetables, although at the same time delay should not occur, unless unavoidable, as the sooner it is planted after the ground is in working order, the better will be the result. When there is plenty of ground, and the crop is to be extensively grown, perhaps the best mode of planting is in rows 3 feet apart, the plants 9 inches apart in the rows. For private use, or for market­ing on a small scale, beds should be formed 5 feet wide, with three rows planted in each; one in the middle, and one on each side, a foot from the edge; the distance of the plants in the rows, 9 inches; the alleys between the beds should be 2 feet wide. In planting, a line is set and a cut made, a little slanting, to the depth of 6 or 8 inches, according to the size of the plants. The plants are then laid against the side of the trench, at the distance already named--9 inches--care being taken to properly spread the roots. The crown or top of the plant should be covered about 2 inches. In a week or so after plant­ing, the beds should be touched over lightly with a sharp steel rake, which will destroy the germinating weeds. The raking had better be continued at intervals of a week or so, until the plants start to grow, when the hoe may be applied between the rows and alleys; the weeds that come up close to the plant, must of necessity be pulled out by the hand.

THE APPLICATION OF SALT

The application of salt to Asparagus as a top­ dressing, is of great benefit in inland districts, out of' the range of a saline atmosphere; but is of little or no benefit in the vicinity of salt water. When used, it should be applied in spring only, at the rate of from 2 to 3 lbs. per


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square yard, strown on the surface; the rains will dissolve it and wash it down to the roots. Besides its beneficial effects upon the plant, it is destructive to the wire worm, and other insects that are often troublesome to the Asparagus.

We have found Asparagus beds very profitably benefited by the application of superphosphate of lime, as a spring top-dressing, applied at the rate of 500 lbs. per acre, sown on the beds and hoed in. Experiments with this, on alternate rows, showed a difference of nearly 1 foot in height of the stalk, in favor of the rows to which the superphosphate had been applied, over those which had none; and a difference of nearly double the product when the crop was cut in the succeeding spring.

The fall treatment of the Asparagus beds varies with the locality; in cold regions, where, if left unprotected, the frost would penetrate below the roots, a covering of 3 or 4 inches of rough manure or leaves is necessary. Although an entirely hardy plant, it will start earlier, and with greater vigor in spring, if the root has not been sub­jected to severe freezing. In milder sections, no such precaution is necessary; all that need be done is to clear off the stems as soon as they are withered in the fall, and clean the beds preparatory to giving a dressing of 2 or 3 inches of manure, which had better not be applied until spring. We believe the common practice of top-dressing Asparagus beds in fall to be a very wasteful one, in dis­tricts where it is not necessary to provide against severe freezing, for, as the plant is then dormant, the juices of the manure are either evaporated, or else washed down by rains below the roots of the plant. I remember, many


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years ago, having three small Asparagus beds under my charge, on one of which I applied in December 25 lbs. of Peruvian guano, dissolved in fifty gallons of water; in April the same application was made to another bed, and the other was left without anything. There was no per­ceptible difference between that to which the liquid had been applied in December and that to which none had been given, but on that which received it in April, nearly double the weight of crop was produced. Since then, all our practice, corroborated by direct experiment, has con­vinced me beyond all doubt, that manures, either liquid or solid, organic or inorganic, are unprofitably employed when applied to plants in the dormant state.

In gathering the crop, caution must be used not to in­jure the plants by continued cutting; for it must be borne in mind, that to reproduce annually its crop of shoots in spring, something must be left to grow to encourage the formation of fresh roots. In our market gardens, the practice is to cut off all the shoots as they are ready, un­til the middle of May or 1st of June, when the shoots begin to show signs of weakness; then all is left to grow and no more cut. In its preparation for market, the shoots are tied up in round bunches, containing from twenty to thirty shoots in each. The tying material is usually bass-matting, as that is soft and has the necessary strength. It requires a little practice to do the "bunching" rapidly, and it should be the object of the beginner to strive to attain this, as it is light work, and continued slowness in the operation will make a serious gap in the profits.

This crop is subject to so many conditions, that an aver-


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age value can hardly be given; some of our growers here claim that it pays an annual clear profit of $1000 per acre, while others say that it does not pay them over $200 per acre. During a period of ten years, counting from the time the bed was planted, it is safe to say that, in this vicinity, the average profits per acre will be $400. It is a crop that never fails to sell, is one that is always produc­tive if it has been properly treated, and as it has a great value for its weight--a ton often being worth from $200 to $400--it is, in all respects, a valuable crop for the mar­ket gardener.

In some localities, especially on Long Island, the Asparagus-beetle has injured the crop to such an extent as to cause whole plantations to be plow­ed under. When the beetle first ap­pears, it may be controlled; but if allowed to become established, the task is hopeless. The engraving, (fig. 26), shows the insect in its different stages. The lower figure is a part of a branch with the small black eggs attached by their ends; these are given of the natural size, and magni­fied. The larva, or caterpillar, as well as the perfect beetle, are shown



Fig. 26.-ASPARAGUS BEETLE.

at the top of the engraving; the natural size of these is indicated by the lines drawn at the side. Whenever the eggs or the larvae appear, cut and burn the plants, as long as any traces of the insect are to be seen; this must be done if it destroys every vestige of vegetation.

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