256 SWINE IN AMERICA 



by the hogs. Its worth, cost considered, has not been 

 fully appreciated, perhaps because of the prevalent idea 

 that, once established in the soil, its eradication is very 

 difficult, but this is not ;iecessarily a fact. It grows from 

 the eyes of the tuber, which may be planted whole, or 

 cut. If planted in the late fall the whole tuber is used. 

 In spring the pieces will do. Plant in rows about the 

 same as potatoes, so that cultivation may be given. As 

 the plant grows up several feet high, the rows should be 

 about three feet apart and the plants some 18 inches in 

 the rows. Plant as deep as potatoes, and cultivate about 

 the same. The plot should be near the hog lots and 

 fenced hog tight. In the fall, when the tubers are 

 grown, the hogs will do the harvesting. 



By preventing the hogs from securing all the tubers 

 this crop can be grown successively for several years 

 without replanting. In the spring the cultivator is start- 

 ed after the new plants show, and everything torn out 

 except the plants in the rows. To destroy the crop let 

 the hogs root out every tuber if possible. When any 

 stray plants appear, plowing and planting to corn or some 

 cultivated crop makes their eradication comparatively 

 easy. 



In tests at the Oregon station hogs which were given 

 the run of an artichoke field, and were also given a par- 

 tial feed of grain, made a gain of one pound in weight 

 for each 3.1 pounds of grain fed. while it usually takes 

 about five pounds of grain to make one pound of gain. 

 In tests made at the Missouri agricultural college, one 

 bushel of artichokes and three bushels of corn were 

 found superior to four bushels of corn, and other tests 



