GARDEN SPECIALTIES 237 



At an early stage, while these stalks retain 

 their tenderness, they are not unpleasant to the 

 European or American palate if, when partially 

 cooked, the water that has extracted the bitter 

 principle is removed and the cooking is continued 

 with fresh water. The root is most used in Japan 

 where it is considered one of their most valuable 

 vegetables. 



The young, tender roots are offered for sale 

 when about eight to twelve inches in length and 

 an inch or more in diameter. They contain less 

 of the bitter principle than do the leafstalks. 



The stalks themselves, at their edible stage, are 

 about the size and form of an ordinary leafstalk 

 of the rhubarb. Several of these Japanese bur- 

 docks have been grown on my grounds, where the 

 American burdock has also been cultivated more 

 or less for the last twenty years. Great variation 

 was noticed in the bitterness of the stalks and 

 roots of the plants. 



Under cultivation they have never become 

 troublesome weeds, as the common burdock has 

 become in the eastern United States, responding 

 readily to the effort to improve them, and if a 

 systematic attempt were made to develop them 

 along the right lines, a most valuable vegetable 

 might be produced, which would be appreciated 

 by those who live in a more favored climate. 



