VI
SELECTION OF PLANTS
hat strong, healthy, one-year-old plants are in every way to be preferred to two or three year old ones has been demonstrated by many carefully conducted experiments, and is now universally recognized by intelligent and observant asparagus growers. The most noteworthy and accurate experiments in this line were made by the famous French asparagus specialist M. Godefroy-Lebœuf, who planted twelve stools of one, two, and three years old respectively in the same soil under the same conditions and at the same time. Calling those plantings Nos. 1, 2, and 3, the following are the results obtained:
First Year.—No. 1.—All the stools came up before May 4th, and were well grown.
No. 2.—Ten stools showed above ground before May 4th, one on the 10th, and one appeared to be dead. The asparagus heads were very fine—finer, indeed, than those of No. 1.
No. 3.—Eight stools showed above ground before May 4th, one on the 12th, and three gave no signs of life. The heads were very fine at first, but they became bent toward the end of the year (September 15th), and were much weaker than those of No. 2.
Second Year.—No. 1.—Well-grown, regular, and strong heads, which measured on September 15th one inch in circumference.