s, seriously
weakening their vitality, and making the growth of the following year
still more susceptible to the infection.

In the autumn, however, after the stalks are dead and dry, this damage
does not prevail, and the spores upon old brush can be destroyed by
burning the asparagus stems either as they stand in the field or by
cutting and throwing the brush into piles. By the latter method many of
the smaller branches will be broken off and scattered upon the ground,
giving a suitable place for the spores to remain over the winter. For
the same reason it is an advantage to burn the brush in autumn instead
of the spring, and thus prevent the large loss of spores that would
obtain. In other words, burn the plants as soon as they become brown
and lifeless, for any delay means the breaking up of the brittle, rusty
plants, and a heavy sowing of the spores upon the ground. If the fire
could go over the whole field of standing brush, that would be the most
effective destruction. At best, with these precautions, many of the
spores will get scattered upon the soil, and it would be well to
sprinkle a thin coat of lime upon the ground and leave it there during
the winter. If this could be followed by a turning under of the surface
soil in the spring, it would bury the spores that might still be living,
so that they would be out of reach.

_Cultivation and irrigation._--It has been observed that the injury to
asparagus plants, as a result of rust, has been confined to dry soils,
although there are places where beds in close proximity showed
remarkable differences as to infection; and that robust and vigorous
plants, even where cultivated on apparently dry soil, are capable of
resisting the summer or injurious stage of the rust.

In view of all the experiments so far made, and the experiences of
practical asparagus growers, Stone and Smith conclude that: "The best
means of controlling the rust is by thorough cultivation in order to
secure vigorous plants, and in seasons of extreme dryness plants growing
on very dry soil with little water-retaining properties should, if
possible, receive irrigation."

From a knowledge of the occurrences of the rust in Europe, and from
observations made in Massachusetts, they are led to believe that the
outbreak of the asparagus rust is of a sporadic nature, and is not
likely to cause much harm in the future, provided attention is given to
the production of vigorous plants.

ASPARAGUS LEOPA