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■or dull flesh tinge, but here on the contrary they become nearly Avhite, 

 and when ripe are very small in size. So much do they differ from 

 the English varieties that I at one time was of opinion that it might 

 be a different species to that cultivated in the old world and 

 to test this I procured sets for the season of 1895, the tubers 

 of which when planted, presented a vastly different appearance 

 to our own. Grown side by side with our common variety the 

 result has been interesting, for the imported tubers produced 

 stems one-third higher than these, with tubers double the 

 size, much more tender, and of a better flavour and more- 

 over, like our own, the tuber proved to be without a particle of 

 colour. The flowers and leaves are also on an average about ^ larger 

 than the Trinidad kind but do not otherwise vary sufficiently to make 

 even a varietal distinction. Subsequent cultivation will of course 

 shew whether the imported kind will, in a season or two, put on the 

 type of growth common to our local variety, or whether it will 

 continue to maintain the slight difference in size which is now the 

 only apparent distinction other than that of superior quality in the im- 

 ported variety. This much however is certain (viz.) that from imported 

 sets, we can in one planting obtain larger and better flavoured tubers 

 than from the kind which is usually grown in Trinidad. The 

 "Jerusalem Artichoke" has its French name of " Topinambour" 

 monopolized in Trinidad by another entirely different plant, viz. : 

 Calathea Allouya, Lindl., which belongs to the order Scitaminecp, 

 while both the Globe and Jerusalem Artichokes belong to the Com- 

 jpositoe, which is another curious illustration of the unreliability of 

 popular plant names, which are so much insisted on locally in Trini- 

 dad. The Jerusalem Artichoke is much used in Trinidad as one of 

 the ingredients for making a very palatable kind of white soup, 

 known as Palestine soup. 



The plant as I have before mentioned is quite an easy plant to 

 cultivate ; all that it requires, is to be grown in a friable soil, fairly 

 fertile, and the sets placed some 15 or 18 inches apart. The tubers 

 should be taken after the plants have flowered, but before they give 

 signs of withering, as the roots are apt to become stringy if left too 

 long before digging. It is one of the most useful tropical vegetables 

 we have, as it may be had at various seasons, simply by varying the 

 time of planting the tubers. 



