European Varieties

The named varieties of asparagus of European origin are very numerous,

as almost every locality in which asparagus is cultivated extensively

and successfully has given its name to a strain more or less distinct.

Generally these varieties differ only in a single characteristic, and

these differences, for the most part, are so little that they are lost

when grown under different climatic and soil conditions. The

best-informed authorities recognize three cultivated varieties, which

have distinct commercial characteristics and whose seeds reproduce them

in the seedlings.



German Giant.--This variety embraces most of the German and French

sorts--the Giant Dutch Purple, Ulm Giant, Giant Brunswick, Large Erfurt,

Early Darmstadt, and many others.



Argenteuil.--Of this three sub-varieties are recognized--the early,

intermediate, and late; and these are the kinds grown almost exclusively

in the vicinity of Paris, France, where its culture and improvement have

steadily developed for centuries. Under good culture the late Argenteuil

produces stalks from three to six inches in circumference, at eight

inches below the tips.



Yellow Burgundy.--The distinctive characteristic of this variety is

that the young shoots below the surface of the soil are light yellow

instead of white to tips, being greenish-yellow. It is also claimed to

be more rust-resisting than other European sorts.