is not practicable to plant thus early,
the work may sometimes be delayed up to the middle of June. In planting
thus late, however, preparation has to be made for watering the plants
in case of drouth, else failure be inevitable. It is also necessary to
do the work as expeditiously as possible, so as not to expose the roots
to the drying influences of the sun and wind. Fall planting is advisable
only in climates where there is no danger of winter-killing of the
roots.

After the ground has been plowed and harrowed, or spaded and raked over,
and brought into as mellow a condition as possible, the rows for
planting are to be laid out. It is usually recommended to have the rows
run north and south, so as to readily admit the sunlight. When this is
not practicable, however, it need not deter any one from making an
asparagus bed, as it is more important to have the rows run with the
slope of the land than in any particular direction of the compass, in
order to provide ready surface drainage.

DISTANCE TO PLANT

As to the best distance between the rows and the plants in the rows
there is a wide difference of opinion, more so than with almost any
other cultivated plant. No unvarying rule can be laid down on this
point, as it depends largely upon the mechanical condition, depth, and
fertility of the soil. In a rich, moderately heavy soil, the roots may
be planted closer than in a poor, light soil. The tendency of the
present day is for giving the plants considerably more room than what
formerly was thought to be ample. Intelligent observers could not fail
to notice that crowded asparagus beds produce later and smaller crops,
and of inferior size and quality; that they do not last as long; and
that they are more liable to attacks from insects and fungi than when
more room is given to the plants.

Gardeners of but a few decades ago had no idea of the possibility of
raising a profitable crop of asparagus planted four or five feet apart,
and would have looked with derision upon any one advocating so wild a
scheme. The remains of run out, old-time asparagus beds are still in
evidence in many old farm gardens. The rows in these were originally one
foot apart and the plants in the rows even closer than this, and perhaps
after every third or fourth row there was a path two feet wide. Of
course, in such a bed, after a few years, the entire ground became a
solid mass of roots, and the stalks became smaller and tougher from year
to