Marketing

During the entire process of cutting, sorting, bunching, and packing

great care must be exercised not to bruise or in any way injure the

heads, as the gummy juice of these soon heats and spoils the whole. They

should also be kept cool and dry, else the moisture causes decay. Of

course if, when cutting, the ground is wet, some of the soil will adhere

to the lower ends of the stalks; this has to be rinsed off in clean

water, but not by immersing the entire stalk.



If the bunches are to be kept over night, before packing, the butts

should be dipped in clean water and stood on end on a cold cellar

bottom, or upon grass or hay that has been thoroughly wet; but the

crowns, or the green portions of the sprouts, should never be sprinkled

or wet. It is a common practice to set the bunches in shallow pans

containing water, but this is apt to give a bitter taste to the stalks.











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.