doubtless, is to force in the beds, and thereby train the plants to
their work so that they become used to it. The growers who supply Paris
with forced Asparagus produce the white sample in the beds, and the
green by removal of the roots to frames. Forcing in beds may be
accomplished by means of trenches filled with fermenting material or by
hot-water pipes, the beds in either case being covered with frames.
Where the demand for forced Asparagus is constant, there can be no doubt
the hot-water system is the cheapest as well as the cleanest and most
reliable; for a casual supply forcing in frames answers very well, but
it is attended with the disadvantage that when the crop has been secured
the roots are worthless. The practice of forcing may be said to commence
with the formation of the seed-bed, for if it is to be carried on in a
systematic and profitable manner, every detail must be provided for in
the original arrangements. The width of the beds and of the alleys, and
the disposition of the plants, will have to be carefully considered, so
as to insure the best results of a costly procedure, and it will be
waste of time to begin forcing until the plants have attained their
fourth year. The rough method of market growers consists in the
employment of hot manure in trenches, and also on the beds, after the
frames are put on. The beds are usually four feet wide, the alleys two
feet wide and twenty inches deep, and the plants not more than nine
inches apart in the row, there being three or four rows of plants in the
bed. The frames are put on when forcing commences, but the lights are
withheld until the shoots begin to appear. Then the fermenting material
is removed from the beds, the lights are put on, and no air is given,
mats being added in cold weather, both to retain warmth and promote
blanching. This method produces a fair market sample, but a much better
growth may be obtained by a good hot-water system, as will be understood
from a momentary consideration of details. By the employment of
fermenting material the temperature runs up rapidly, sometimes