A 



1 



fair fruit the autumn follovving j but as this is a plant 

 which few gardeners, that have not been inrcru6led 

 in the kitchen-gardens near London, underftand to 

 manacle well, I Ihall be the more particular in my di- 



reftions about it. 



At the latter end of February, or in March, 'accord- 

 ino- to the earlinefs of the feafon, or forwardnefs of 

 the old Artichoke roots, will be the proper time for 



e produced, clearing tlie earth from between 

 :s v/ith the hands, lb as to be able tg judge 



dreffing them, which muft be thus performed : with 

 your Ipade rem.ove all the earth trom about your 

 llock, down below the part from whence the young 



flioots ar 



the fhoots v/itii tnc nanus, lo as to De aoie tgj 

 of the goodnels of each, with tiieir proper pofition 

 upon the ftock ; then make choice of two of tlie 

 cleareft, ftraiteft, and moft promifing pLints that are 

 produced from the under part of the llock, v/hich are 

 much preferable to the ftrong tliick plants which ge- 

 nerally grow upon the crown oi the roots ; for thefe 

 have hard woody ftems, fo never produce good fruit, 

 but are generally v/hat the n^^arket people call rogues, 

 which Iiave very little bottom •, tlie fcales of their 

 heads are irregularly placed ; in flipping off the plants 

 you muft be careful not to injure thoie which are to 

 remain for a crop ; then with your thumb force off 

 all the other plants and buds alio dole to the head of 

 the ftock, from whence they are produced, being 

 very careful not to leave any of the buds, which will 

 foon produce plants fo as to hurt thofe which are 

 left : then with your fpade draw the earth about the 



two plants which are left, and witli your hands clofe 

 it faft to each of them, feparating them as far aftinder 

 2.3 they can convenierxly be placed without breaking 

 them, obferving to crop off the tops of the leaves 

 wliich hang down with your hands ; your ground be- 

 ing levelled between the ftocks, you may fow thereon 

 a Imali crop of Spinach, whicli v/ill be taken off be- 

 fore the Artichokes will cover the ground, and be 

 fure to keep them clear from weeds •, and toward the 

 latter end of April, or the beginning of May, when 

 your old plants begin to fhew their fruit, you muft 

 carefully look over your ftocks, and draw up all young 

 plants from them, which may have been produced 

 iince their dreffing, and cut off all ftickers which are 

 produced from the ftems of the Artichoke, leaving 

 only the principal head, by which means your fruit 

 will be the larger ^ when your Artichokes are fit to 

 eather, vou muft break or cut them dov/n clofe to 

 the ftirface of the ground, that your ft"0cks may make 

 ftrong frefli ftioots before the end of October : tlie 

 feafon for earthing, or, as the gardeners term it, land- 

 ing them up, is the middle or latter end of Novem- 

 ber, which is thus done : 



Cut off all the young fnoots quite clofe to the ftirface 

 of the ground j tlien dig between every ftock, raifmg 

 all the earth between each row of ftocks into a rido-e, 

 as is done in the common method of trencliino- ground, 

 fo as that the row of Artfcliokes may be exaftly in 

 the middle of each ridge, this v/ill be fufScient to 

 guard them againft froft ; and I v/ould here recom- 

 mend it to the public, as infinitely preferable to long 

 dung, which is by the unflcilful often ufed, and is 

 the occafion of their fruit being fmall, and almoft 

 without any bottoms to them ^ for there is not any 

 thins; fo hurtful to thefe, as new dunor beinp* either 

 buried near, or laid about them. 



Since we have experienced, that, in very fevere frofts 

 thefe roots are ibmetimes deftroyed, therefore it is 

 proper to give fom^e diredlions to prevent it •, though 

 this rarely happens in dry ground, in which we hav^e 

 but few inftances of their being killed, except in the 

 hard frofts of 16S3, and jyll^' In thefe tw^o winters 

 moft of the Artichokes were deftroyed in England ; 

 in the laft of thefe winters, it happened from the lit- 

 tle care v/hich v/as taken of them, there having been 

 no froft for fo many years before, which had injured 

 them, that few people ufed any care to preferve them ; 

 but fince that hard froft', many people have run into 

 the other extreme of coverino; all their roots of Arti- 

 chokes with long dung every winter, which is a very 



is very apt to rot the beft j^hnis ; therefore 

 advife the earthing (or as it is called by thi 



T 



bad method, bccaufe the dung lying near the roots, 



I would 



by the garden- 

 ers, landing) the Artichokes to be deferred till the lat- 

 ter end of November, or the beginning of December, 

 provided the feafon continues m.ild; and towards 

 Chriftmas, if there is any danger of fevere frofts, to 



layaquantityoflongdung,:\-afe-haulm,tannersbark, 

 or any other light covering over the ridges of eartli, 

 which v/ill keep cut tiie froft ; and this being at a dif- 

 tance from the roots, will not injure them-,^but this 



covering Ihould be carefuiiy taken off the beginning 

 of February, or fooner, provided the feafon is mild, 

 or at lealt ib foon as the weather is fo, otherwife 

 t!ie plants will be injured by its lying too long upon 

 them. 



It Will alfo be a good metj^od, whenever any roots 

 of Artichokes are dug up in autumn, either to bury 

 them deep in the ground in a pit till fpring, or lay 

 them in a heap, fo as that they may be eafily^^covered 

 in hard frofts ; and thefe may be a fupply, if thofe in 

 the ground are deftroyed. 



When you have thus earthed them up, you have no- 

 thing more to do till February or March, by w^hich 

 time they will have grown through the ridge of tlic 

 earth ; and, v/hen the weather is proper, muft be 

 dreffed as was before direfted. 



When you have a mind to make a new plantation, 

 after having digged and buried fome very rotten dunp- 

 in the ground you have allotted for that purpofe, 

 make choice of fuch of your plants as were taken 

 from your old ftocks, vv^hich are clear, found, and 

 not woody, having fome fibres to their bottom ; then 

 with your knife cut off that knobbed woody part, 

 which joined them to the ftock -, and if that cuts crifp 

 and tender, it is a fign of its goodnefs, but if tough 

 and ftringy, throw it away as good for nothing ; then 

 cut off the large outfide leaves pretty low, that the 

 middle or heart leaves, may be above them. Your 

 plants being thus prepared (if the weather is very dry, 

 or the plants have been any time taken from the 

 ftocks, it will be convenient to fet them upright in a 

 tub of water for three or four hours before they are 

 planted, which will greatly refrelli them j) you miuft 

 then proceed to planting, which muft be done by 

 ranging a line acrofs the ground, in order to their be- 

 ing placed exaftly in a row ; and, with a meafure 

 ftick, plant them at two feet diftance from each other 

 in the rows, and if dehgned for a full crop, five feet 

 diftance row from row ; your plants muft be fet about 

 four inches deep, and the earth clofed very faft to 

 their roots, obferving, if the feafon proves dry, to 

 keep them watered two or three times a week, un- 

 til they are growing, after wliicJi they feldom require 

 ny 



a 



N. B. You may fow a thin crop of Spinach upon the 

 ground before you plant your plants, obferving to 

 clear it from about them after it is come up. 

 Thefe plants, in a kindly feafon, or a m.oifl foil, will 

 produce the largeft and beft Artichokes fome time 

 in Auguft and September, after ail thofe from the 

 old ftocks are paft; ib that if you intend to continue 

 your Artichokes through the whole feafon, you muft 

 make a new plantation every year, otherwife you can- 

 not poffibly have fruit longer than two or three 

 months. 



If any of the plants which are planted in the fpring 

 fliould not fruit in autumn, you may, at the feafon 

 of earthing up your roots, tie up the leaves with a 

 fmall Willow twig, &c. and lay the earth up clofe 

 to it, fo that the top of the plant may be above 

 ground; and when tlie froft comes on, .if you will 

 cover the top with a little ftraw, or Peafe-haulm, to 

 prevent their being killed by froft", thefe plants will 

 produce fruit in v/inter, or early in the fprinp*. 

 But in thofe plantations where you intend to plant 

 other things betwcei) your Artichokes, you muft al- 

 low nine or ten feet between the rov/s, as is often 

 practifed by the kitchen-gardeners near London, who 

 fow tlie ground between witli RadiHics or Spinacli, 



and 



) 



