ASPARAGUS (Gk, ciar dpayos, asparagus, or acrocipay,c, uspharagos). A genus of plants of the natural order Liliaccw. The species of this genus are herbaceous or shrubby plants, na tives chiefly of the south of Europe and of Africa. The most widely diffused species is the common asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), a na tive of Europe, which grows on the banks of rivers and on the seashore, in meadows and bushy places, especially in sandy soils, occurring in a few places in Great Britain, and is also iu general cultivation as a garden vegetable; its young shoots, when they first sprout from the earth, form a much-esteemed article of food. These sprouts contain a peculiar crystalline sub stance called asparaginc (q.v.). The thick and tender kinds of asparagus are most esteemed for the table. Asparagus has been much increased in size and considerably altered in general ap pearance by cultivation, being seldom more than a foot high in its wild state, and not much thicker than a goose-quill, whereas it has been obtained in gardens more than half an inch in diameter, with a stein 4 or 5 feet in height. As paragus is grown from seed. When the plants are one year old, they are transplanted to rows, and set at distances varying from 1 to 2 feet apart each way. The plant will grow on almost any soil, but gives the best results on deep, rich, sandy beams. with a south or east exposure. It requires heavy manuring each year if large yields are desired. Male plants are held to be more productive than female. The first sprouts may be gathered when the plants are three years old, but a full crop is not to be expected until the spring of the fourth year. Beds once estab lished and cared for endure many years. The raising of asparagus for the market has become an important market-gardening industry near the larger cities of Europe and the United States. Asparagus is sometimes forced out of
season. For this purpose mature roots may be placed under the greenhouse benches or in pits, cellars, or almost any place where there is suffi cient heat. But little light is needed. The as paragus shoots thus obtained are formed from the reserve material already stored in the roots. Roots thus forced once are exhausted and are thrown away.
In the open field, forcing trenches are some times dug between the rows, and filled with fer menting manure. The trenches may also be heated with hot-water pipes and with loose steam. The latter method has proved very ef fective at the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station. Another method of forcing is to place sashes over the plants. At the Cornell Experi ment Station, in New York, a low house was built over the bed. the frame of which was made of steam-pipes. The top was covered with canvas. Asparagus plants forced in place by any of these methods recuperate after one or two years, when they may be again forced. The young shoots of several other species of asparagus are also ea ten, as those of tenuifolius. Asparagus acutifolins, and Asparagus albus, natives of the south of Europe; the last of which is much used in Spain and Portugal as a salad. in soups, and as a boiled vegetable. On the other hand, the sprouts of the bitter asparagus (Asparagus sea her), which is very similar to the common as paragus, are not edible, un account of their bit terness. There are a number of species of as paragus grown in greenhouses as ornamentals. See LILIACE.E. see FLOWERS.