ASPARAGUS  , a genus of

plants (nat. ord . Liliaceae) containing more than too species, and widely distributed in the temperate and warmer parts of the Old World; it was introduced from Europe into America with the early settlers . The name is derived from the Greek avnrapayos or avMapayor, the origin of which is obscure . Sperage or sparage was the form in use from the 16th to 18th centuries, cf. the modern Italian sparagio . The vulgar corruption sparrow-grass or sparagrass was in accepted popular use during the 18th century, " asparagus " being considered pedantic . The plants have a short, creeping, under-ground stem from which spring slender, branched, aerial shoots . The leaves are reduced to minute scales bearing in their axils tufts of green, needle-like branches (the so-called cladodes), which simulate, and perform the functions of, leaves . In one section of the genus, sometimes regarded as a distinct genus Myrsiphyllum, the cladodes are flattened . The plants often climb or scramble, in which they are helped by the development of the scale-leaves into persistent spines . The flowers are small, whitish and pendulous; the fruit is a berry . Several of the climbing species are grown in greenhouses for 'their delicate, often feathery branches, which are also valuable for cutting; the South African Asparagus plumosus is an especially elegant species . The so-called smilax, much used for decoration, is a species of the Myrsiphyllum section, A. medeoloides, also known as Myrsiphyllum asparagoides .

The

young shoots of Asparagus o ficinalis have from very remote times been in high repute as a culinary vegetable, owing to their delicate flavour and diuretic virtues . The plant, which is a native of the north temperate zone of the Old World, grows wild on the south coast of England; and on the waste steppes of Russia it is so abundant that it is eaten by cattle like grass . In common with the marsh-mallow and some other plants, it contains asparagine or aspartic acidamide . The roots of asparagus were formerly used as an aperient medicine, and the fruits were likewise employed as a diuretic . Under the name of Prussian asparagus, the spikes of an allied plant, Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, are used in some places . The diuretic action is extremely feeble, and neither the plant nor asparagine is now used medicinally . Asparagus is grown extensively in private gardens as well as for market . The asparagus prefers a loose, light, deep, sandy soil; the depth should be 3 ft., the soil being well trenched, and all surplus water got away . A considerable quantity of well-rotted dung or of recent seaweed should be laid in the bottom of the trench, and another top-dressing of manure should be dug in preparatory to planting or sowing . The beds should be 3 ft. or $ ft. wide, with intervening alleys of 2 ft., the narrower bedstaking two rows of plants, the wider ones three rows . The beds should run east and west, so that the sun's rays may strike against the side of the bed . In some cases the plants are grown in equidistant rows 3 to 4 ft. apart .

Where the beds are made with plants already prepared, either one-

year-old or two-year-old plants may be used, for which a trench should be cut sufficient to afford room for spreading out the roots, the crowns being all kept at about 2 in. below the surface . Planting is best done in April, after the plants have started into growth . To prevent injury to the roots, it is, however, perhaps the better plan to sow the seeds in the beds where the plants are to remain . To experience the finest flavour of asparagus, it should be eaten immediately after having been gathered; if kept longer than one day, or set into water, its finer flavour is altogether lost . If properly treated, asparagus beds will continue to bear well for many years . The asparagus grown at Argenteuil, near Paris, has acquired much notoriety for its large size and excellent quality . The French growers plant in trenches instead of raised beds . The most common method of forcing asparagus is to prepare, early in the year, a moderate hot-bed of stable litter with a bottom heat of 70°, and to cover it with a common frame . After the heat of fermentation has somewhat subsided, the surface of the bed is covered with a layer of light earth or exhausted tan-bark, and in this the roots of strong mature plants are closely placed . The crowns of the roots are then covered with 3 to 6 in. of soil . A common three-light frame may hold 500 or 600 plants, and will afford a supply for several weeks . After planting, linings are applied when necessary to keep up the heat, but care must be taken not to scorch the roots; air must be occasionally admitted .

Where there are pits heated by hot water or by the tank

system, they may be advantageously applied to this purpose . A succession of crops must be maintained by annually sowing or planting new beds . The " asparagus-beetle " is the popular name for two beetles, the " common asparagus beetle " (Crioceris asparagi) and the " twelve-spotted " (C. duodecimpunctata), which feed on the asparagus plant . C. asparagi has been known in Europe since early times, and was introduced into America about 1856; the rarer C. duodecimpunctata (sometimes called the " red " to distinguish it from the " blue " species) was detected in America in 1881 . For an admirable account of these pests see F . H . Chittenden, Circular 102 of the U . S . Dep. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology, May 1908 . The " asparagus-stone " is a form of apatite, simulating asparagus in colour .