rows. This was done by plowing
between them, twice in a place, throwing the furrows on the plants so as
to cover each row with two furrows of loose earth. These trenches
between the rows were then made uniform by means of the spade. When
finished they were three or four inches lower than the crowns of
asparagus in the adjacent rows. These trenches were then covered with
twelve-inch boards, which rested on four-inch blocks, placed at frequent
intervals along either side of the trenches. This formed tunnels
between the rows for conducting the steam. To guard against the steam's
escaping, two or three inches of soil was placed over the boards, and
the asparagus patch was then covered with five or six inches of horse
manure. This covering was to prevent the heat from escaping from the
soil too rapidly. It was then ready for the steam to be turned into the
tunnels.

"To conduct the steam a one and one-half inch pipe was carried above
ground from the boiler to one end of the central tunnel, a distance of
one hundred and eighty-five feet. A steam hose long enough to reach each
tunnel was attached to this pipe through which to blow steam into the
tunnels. It was not the idea to give a constant supply of steam, but to
discharge a little into the tunnels each afternoon, or as often as was
necessary to maintain sufficient warmth. A piece of tile was inserted
into the mouth of each tunnel to prevent the discharging steam from
tearing away the earth.

"The first steam was turned into the tunnels on November 14th. Steam was
discharged into each tunnel, not to exceed five minutes at a time, in
order not to heat the earth too hot in any single place. It required
about one hour of steaming the first day to bring the bed up to the
required temperature of sixty degrees. The distribution of heat
throughout the bed was very uniform and satisfactory. The moist steam
seemed to permeate the soil equally in all directions.

"After the first day very little steaming was necessary until the
asparagus began to be produced. On an average the bed was steamed about
twice in three days and then only for about five minutes for each
tunnel. The soil and horse manure mulch seemed to hold the heat very
well, the frequent steamings keeping up fermentation in the mulch.

"The first asparagus was cut November 24th, ten days after the first
steam was applied. The stems were cut just before they got through the
soil and were perfectly bleached. They were