[Illustration: FIG. 32--BOX OF GIANT ASPARAGUS READY FOR SHIPMENT]
[Illustration: FIG. 33--SOUTHERN ASPARAGUS CRATE, CONTAINING 24 BUNCHES OF GREEN ASPARAGUS]
[Illustration: FIG. 34--END PIECE OF SOUTHERN CRATE]
_Crates._--There is no standard shape or size of crates for shipping asparagus, and in the wholesale markets of New York City a great variety of styles is found. Of late ordinary twenty-four or thirty-two quart berry crates have come into favor with near by growers, as they are cheap, light, and easily handled. In these the bunches are laid down flat, in tiers, alternating the butt ends so that when the crates are full the top row is level with the cover. Some growers, of very fine asparagus even, use solid wooden boxes. Fig. 32 shows such a box containing three dozen bunches. A crate with the top a few inches narrower than the bottom has the advantage that it holds the bunches more firmly together than straight-sided boxes. Fig. 33 shows a crate containing two dozen bunches of green asparagus ready for shipment, with the exception of the slats to be nailed on the side. Fig. 34 shows the shape of the end pieces. These crates are made of various sizes, according to the length of the bunches. The crate here illustrated was 24 inches long, 12 inches high, 19 inches wide at the bottom, and 14-1/2 inches at the top, inside measurement. The end boards were 7/8 of an inch thick, and the slats about half an inch.
In shipping to a distant market some thoroughly wet grass, or sphagnum moss, should be put in the bottom of the crate, the bunches stood on ends, butt down, and pressed so tightly together that they can not move or shift in handling. The crate should have a tight bottom and ends. The sides may be tight half way up, and the rest of the sides and the top should be slatted. This keeps the butts moist and the tops dry and cool.
The forcing of asparagus in various methods has been practiced for centuries, and is rapidly developing into an important industry. The forcing may be done in any place where a temperature of 50° to 60° can be secured, in the greenhouse, hotbed, pit, cellar, or in the garden and field. Whichever plan is pursued, the management of the plants to be forced is the same. The roots should not be less than three years old, and, if obtainable, four or five-year-old plants are to be preferred. These may be dug up from ordinary out-of-door plantations, or, if the forcing is to be done on a large scale and as a permanent industry, the plants have to be grown from seed for this special purpose. To keep up a continuous succession new sowings have to be made every year. The sowing of the seed and the management of the plants during the first year is the same as described in Chapter V.