Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 1, 1802).djvu/152

128] ASP the ground, and the earth faked over them. — During summer, the bed should be kept clean of weeds, and about October, when the slalks appear withered, a small quantity of rotten dung should be spread over the bed, about half an inch in thickness. In the following spring, the plants will be in a pro- per state for transplanting ; when the ground should be prepared for them, by trenching it, and dispos- ing a large quantity of rotten dung in the trenches, so that it may lie at least six inches below the sur- face ; after which, the whole plot must be levelled, and all the loose stones carefully picked out. The most eligible situation for such hot-beds, is a south-eastern aspect, sheltered from the north ; and the soil should be neither too moist, nor too firm, or hard. If the season be forward, and the soil dry, the asparagus should be transplanted in the beginning of March; but, in a wet soil, it is preferable to wait till the beginning of April, at which time the plants begin to shoot. The roots should, at this season, be care- fully raised with a narrow- pronged dung-fork, shaking from them the adhering earth, separating them from each other, and laying their heads even, for the greater conve- nience in planting them; which should be perfi irmed in the following manner : Lines are drawn across the bed, at a distance of one foot from each other, after which they must be dug in the form of small trer of six inches in depth, into which the roots must be laid with their buds upwards, so that, when the earth is raked over them, the}- i be two inches under the sue A space of two id and a half should be left between every four rows, for the purpose of affording ASP B to cut tire stalks. At the time of planting, onions may be sown on the ground ; after the lapse of a month, the asparagus will begin to shew its buds, when the former must be thinned, and the weeds carefully removed. By August the onions will be fit to be collected. In October, the shoots of the asparagus should be cut within two inches of the ground j but, with respect: to this process, the following circumstance de- serves attention : as often as a stalk is cut, a new one springs up, and every plant running to seed depo- sits a new bud or eye, as it is call- ed by gardeners, beside the new shoots, which sprout the follow- ing spring. Hence, the cutting ought not to be too long continued, as this practice would prevent the new shoots from sprouting, and de- prive those which are in bud, from acquiring sufficient strength. Young asparagus fit for table, may be cut the second spring after planting : but, as this early fruit is with many a desideratum, the following directions, properly at- tended to, will enable them to pro- duce it at any time during the win- ter : Take some good roots of one ' growth, and plant them in a rich, moist soil, about eight inches asunder; the second and third years after planting, they will be fit for removal to a hot-bed, which should be made rather of heating materials^ especially tanner's waste and horse-dung, about three feet thick, and covered with a stra- tum of earth, six inches high. The plants should then be laid against a ridge made at one end, without trimming or cutting the fibres ; between every row, make a small ridge of fine earth, and thus proceed until the whole is planted;