Forcing. Plants To Be Employed

Such plants must be inserted in hot-beds as are five or six years old, and appear of sufficient strength to produce vigorous shoots: when, however, any old natural ground plantations are intended to be broken up, at the proper season some of the best plants may be selected to be plunged in a hot-bed or any spare corner of the stove bark beds. When more than ten years old, they are scarcely worth employing. To plant old stools for the main forcing crop, is, however, decidedly erroneous; for, if plants are past production, and unfit to remain in the garden, little can be expected from them when forced.

Time Of Planting

The first plantation should be made about the latter end of September; the bed, if it works favourably, will begin to produce in the course of four or five weeks, and will continue to do so for about three; each light producing in that time 300 or 400 shoots, and affording a gathering every two or three days.

Produce

To have a regular succession, a fresh bed must be formed every three or four weeks, the last crop to be planted in March or the early-part of April; this will continue in production until the arrival of the natural ground crops. The last made beds will be in production a fortnight sooner than those made about Christmas.

Bed

The hot-bed must be substantial, and proportioned to the size and number of the lights, and to the time of year. The common mode of making a hot-bed is usually followed. The bed must be topped with six inches of light rich earth.

Quantity Ncecessary

If a small family is to be supplied, three or four lights will be sufficient at a time; for a larger six or eight will not be too many. Several hundred plants may be inserted under each, as they may be crowded as close as possible together; from 500 to 900 are capable of being inserted under a three light frame, according to their size.

Mode Of Planting

In planting, furrow being drawn the whole length of the frame, against one side of it the first row or course is to be placed, the crown upright, and a little earth drawn on to the lower ends of the roots, then more plants again in the same manner, and so continued throughout, it being carefully observed to keep them ail regularly about an inch below the surface; all round on the edge of the bed some moist earth must be banked close to the outside roots.

Precautions Necessary

If the bed is extensive, it will probably acquire a violent heat; the frames must therefore be continued off" until it has become regular, otherwise the roots are liable to be destroyed by being, as it is technically termed, scorched or steam-scalded.

Treatment

When the heat has become regular, the frames may be set on; and more earth be applied by degrees over the crowns of the plants until it acquires a total depth of five or six inches.

The glasses must be kept open an inch or two, as long and as often as possible, without too great a reduction of temperature occurring, so as to admit air freely and give vent to the vapours; for on this depends the superiority in flavour and appearance of the shoots. The heat must be kept up by a lining of hot dung, and by covering the glasses every night with mats, etc.

The temperature at night should never be below 50°, and in the day its maximum at 62°.

Gathering

In gathering, for which the shoots are fit when from two to five inches in height, the finger and thumb must be thrust down into the earth and the-stem broken off at the bottom.

Inserts

The foliage of this vegetable is liable to be destroyed by the larvae of two beetles, the Lemaasparagi, or Asparagus Beetle, and the Lema duo-decim punctata. The only remedy is to pick off and destroy the affected branches.