Asparagus (often mis-called "_asparagrass_").--Scrape the stalks till
they are clean; throw them into a pan of cold water, tie them up in
bundles of about a quarter of a hundred each; cut off the stalks at
the bottom to a uniform length leaving enough to serve as a handle for
the green part; put them into a stewpan of boiling water, with a
handful of salt in it. Let it boil, and skim it. When they are tender
at the stalk, which will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, they are
done enough.
Watch the exact time of their becoming tender; take them up that
instant. While the asparagus is boiling, toast a round of a a quartern
loaf, about half an inch thick; brown it delicately on both sides; dip
it lightly in the liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in
the middle of a dish; melt some butter, but do not put it over them.
Serve butter in a butter-boat.