XI
HARVESTING AND MARKETING
he chief labor in asparagus culture is the cutting and bunching. As it is of the greatest importance that the work be done promptly and expeditiously, it is desirable to have more help than is wanted merely for the asparagus, and then, when the asparagus is ready for market, they can go to hoeing and tilling other crops. Five acres in full bearing will require from six to eight men from four to six hours per day to do the cutting and three or four to do the bunching. A successful farmer in western New York, who has four acres of asparagus, employs eight or ten boys and girls, for from three to six hours per day, to do the cutting and three women to bunch it. The women are paid by the bunch, and work five to ten hours per day. Piecework, if properly done, is nearly always cheaper than day work, and is better for the employés and the employer.
CUTTING
As has been stated in a previous chapter, cutting should not begin until the plants have become strong and vigorous, which requires two or three years from the planting. In the latitude of New York City the cutting season commences usually the last week in April and closes July 10th, although but few growers cut after the 1st, particularly if the season has been a favorable one. Except on old and well-established plantings, cutting should not extend for more than six or seven weeks. Some growers cut asparagus as long as it pays to ship, regardless of the damage done to the plants. The old rule to discontinue cutting asparagus when green peas are abundant is a safe one to follow, especially in the home garden. Unlike other crops, about as much can be cut each day, or at each cutting, as the day before, during the season, varying only according to the weather.
Manner of cutting.—The mode of cutting asparagus varies according to the requirements of the markets, whether green or white stalks are desired. Whatever individual preferences may be, the fact is that in New York City, and some other large market centers, 75 per cent. of the asparagus sold is white or blanched, and it would be useless to try to persuade the buyers to take any other. To show how extreme the convictions are in this matter of taste, we quote from Prof. J. F. C. Du Pre, of the Clemson Agricultural College: "Why any one should prefer the almost tasteless, insipid white to the green 'grass,' into which the sunshine has put the flavor of ambrosia, is beyond my comprehension." On the other hand, Lebœuf, the famous asparagus expert of Argenteuil, writes: "Properly blanched asparagus is infinitely more tender and delicate than green. To serve up green asparagus is to dishonor the table."
In recent years a compromise has been made between the two styles. By allowing the tops of the hilled-up sprouts to grow four inches above the surface, the upper half of the stalk is green while the lower half remains white.
FIG. 23—BASKET OF ASPARAGUS READY FOR THE BUNCHING SHED