Cultural Varieties

Although but one species of edible asparagus has found its way into

general cultivation, many varieties and strains are recognized.



Up to within a comparatively recent period it was thought that there

existed only one distinct kind, or variety, of asparagus. As late as

1869 so keen an observer as Peter Henderson believed that "the asparagus

of our gardens is confined to only one variety, and the so-called giant

can be made gigantic or otherwise, just as we will it, and the purple

top variety will become a green top whenever the composition of the soil

is not of the kind to develop the purple, and vice versa. All

practical gardeners know how different soils and climates change the

appearance of the same variety. Seeds of cabbage taken from the same bag

and sown at the same time, but planted out in soils of light sandy loam,

heavy clayey loam, and peat or leaf-mold, will show such marked

differences when at maturity as easily to be pronounced different sorts.

This, no doubt, is the reason why the multitude of varieties of all

vegetables, when planted side by side to test them, are so wonderfully

reduced in number."



But after inspecting an acre of ordinary asparagus and an acre of

Abraham Van Siclen's Colossal--which was afterward introduced as

Conover's Colossal--at Jamaica, L. I., N. Y., Mr. Henderson wrote: "A

thorough inspection of the roots of each lot proved that they were of

the same age when planted. The soil was next examined, and found to be

as near the same as could be, yet these two beds of asparagus showed a

difference that no longer left me a shadow of a doubt of their being

entirely different varieties."



In but few vegetables do the conditions of soil, locality, mode of

cultivation, and other circumstances affect the quality, size, and

appearance as much as in asparagus. It is therefore difficult to

distinguish fixed and permanent varieties from mere local strains and

forms secured by selection.



Through natural and artificial selection, through use of seed of strong

shoots from superior roots, there has been improvement in the size and

yield of asparagus; from the peculiar adaptability of soil and climate,

and the effect of manure and high cultivation, there have appeared

certain variations in the product of different beds which have led to

the bestowing of a new name; but the effect of this care and these

favorable conditions is not sufficiently strong to produce distinct

varieties with fixed characteristics. Therefore, with correct and

rational treatment of the plant from the time of seeding through all the

stages of culture, satisfactory results may be reached with almost any

of the varieties on the market.