Vol. XVII. No. 432. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



36.5 



THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE, A NEG- 

 LECTED SOURCE OF FOOD. 



Under the above title, Professor T. D. A. Cockerell, of 

 the University of Colorado, contributed an article to the 

 Scientific Monthly, March 1918, to which we are indebted for 

 much of the following. 



The sun-flowers, genus Helianthus, are native only to 

 the Western Hemisphere. About seventy valid species are 

 recognized by botanists as occurring in America, north of 

 Mexico, and between twenty and thirty species are found 

 south of that line as far as Peru. 



The species of Helianthus in the north-eastern United 

 States and the adjacent parts of Canada develop edible 

 tubers, so that there is a group of sun-flowers which possess 

 no permanent aerial stems, but are reproduced annually both 

 by seeds and by underground stems. Plants like these are 

 ordinarily classed as perennials; they are, however, only 

 perennial in the same sense as the potato is. Among these 

 perennial sun-flowers is the Jerusalem artichoke {Helianthus 

 titberosiis). 



As in the case of the potato, the tubers of the .Jerusalem 

 artichoke arise from underground stems. The tubers of the 

 potato are terminal, that is to say, produced at the extremity 

 of the underground stem, whereas those of the .Jerusalem 

 artichoke are formed laterally also, or the underground stem 

 itself may swell up and become a tuber. Consequently the 

 •Jerusalem artichoke bears a mass of tubers close to the main 

 .stem, although others may be more widely separated in the 

 soil. Accoriingly the tubers are very easy to harvest, and 

 the space occupied by them is surprisingly small considering 

 their quantity. 



Helianthus tiilierosus is not the only member of the 

 genus which has been used as a source of edible tubers. 

 H. sii/itu/>erosus, the so-called Indian potato of Michigan, has 

 thick, fleshy, edible tubers. H. doronicoides, a native of 

 Ohio, is used as food in Europe in the same manner as salsify. 



As a source of food, Helianthus tuberosus was well 

 known to the natives of America long before tbe advent of 

 the white man. The tubers were much valued by the Indians 

 on account of their hardiness and productiveness, and because 

 they retained possession of the soil for many years. These 

 tubers were mentioned by the French explorer Champlain 

 in 1603, and brought to France by Lescarbot in 161 1', who 

 described them as being as big as small turnips, excellent to 

 eat, with the taste of artichoke, but more agreeable, and 

 multiplying in a wonderful way. Strange to say, though 

 originally so much valued in the New World, the plant is 

 now much more cultivated in the Did World. 



The tubers appear to have been highly appreciated in 

 Europe from the first. The plant was grown in the Farnese 

 Gardens at Piome, and was distributed thence under the 

 name of Girasole Articiocco, or sun-flower artichoke. Par- 

 kinson, the English botanist, noted in'1629 that they were 

 then very commonly offered for sale in London. 



The name artichoke is supposed to be derived from the 

 Arabic name applied to a thistle-like plant, Cynara Scolymus, 

 a native of the Old World. This is the true artichoke, and 

 the edible part of that plant is the flower head, particularly 

 the thickened involucral bracts. This and the Jerusalem 

 artichoke have little in common, the plants being entirely 

 different in appearance, and furnishing quite different parts 

 as food. The name artichoke appears to have been given to 

 Helianthus tuberosus solely on account of its some.what 

 similar flavour, while 'Jerusalem' is only an English 

 corruption of the Italian 'Girasole,' which means sun-flower. 

 Thus the designation 'Jerusalem artichoke' is as misleading as 

 'Guinea pig'. The French have a distinctive name, 'Topin- 

 ambour', and the name in Spanish is 'Cotufa'. In view 

 of the astonishing size of the crop and the value of the 

 tubers as human food, it is singular that this plant is so 

 largely neglected at present in the western world. 



An experiment conducted by Professor Cockerell himself 

 in Colorado gave a yield of 9 '6 6 tons to the acre, and this 

 has been exceeded in several other localities of the United 

 States. In England, Messrs. Sutton X- Sons have reported 

 a yield of 18 stone of .splendid tubers from 6 fti. planted. 

 It must be remembered that the average yield of potatoes in 

 the United States is said to be 84'.5 bushels, though rising 

 in some States to an average of over 150 bushels Against 

 this, the 'Encyclopedia Americana' states that the usual yield 

 of Jerusalem artichokes is 200 to .!iO0 bushels per acre, and 

 that 1,000 bushels are sometimes obtained. The Jerusalem 

 artichoke requires less labour to plant and to cultivate than 

 the potato. 



As a tuber for general cultivation, the Jerusalem arti- 

 choke is not likely to become a successful competitor of the 

 sweet potato and other edible tubers cultivated in the tropics, 

 although it can be grown and give very large returns in 

 these regions. It is, for instance, successfully grown in the 

 Philippine Islands and in some of these West Indies. 



Under the cultivation in Europe, especially in the hands 

 of Vilmorin in France, and Sutton in England, several 

 improved varieties have been put on the market, and doubt- 

 less such breeders in the future will stiil more improve the 

 plants, and produce sorts adapted to special purposes and 

 conditions. 



The food value is about the same as that of the potato. 

 As a food for stock, particularly hogs, it is stated that the 

 Jerusalem artichoke is about equal to potatoes, and richer in 

 protein than sweet potatoes. 'The dried leaves and stalks of 

 the plant have been fed to sheep and cows and found 

 about equal in nutritive value to good meadow hay. The 

 young plants are also sometimes used as forage for cattle. 



As a human food, the tubers can be used boiled as a 

 vegetable, or as a salad, or in soup. In preparing them for the 

 table, the irregularity of the tubers makes them hard to peel, 

 and their peculiar taste is sometimes objected to at first, 

 although it is easy to acquire a liking for them. 



The cultivation of this plant, which is equally valuable 

 as food for man and beast, might add very considerably to the 

 food resources of these islands. The greatest obstacles seem 

 to be prejudice and want of knowledge. 



In Cuba, some interest is being taken in the cultivation 

 of this plant. An article in the official organ of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Cuba, July 1918, from the pen of Dr. 

 Mario Calvino, draws the attention of Cuban planters to the 

 desirable qualtities ot the Jerusalem artichoke. The Doctor 

 considers that the best way to grow this crop is to select 

 healthy and vigorous small tubers, and to plant them in 

 furrows, about 3 fet-t apart, the tubers being placed about 

 2 feet one from the other. 



