70 KEEPING 01JE COW. 



the cow will consume two hundred and forty bushels, or more, of 

 them. These, with the hay and other dry fodder, will keep her 

 in excellent condition, and produce an abundance of good milk 

 without additional food. One ton of hay or other dry fodder, in 

 connection with the artichokes, will last during the said eight 

 months, affording the cow eight or nine pounds a day. Three* 

 [quarters of a ton mc.y suffice, but she should not have less than 

 this. If the crop of hay and other dry fodder exceeds a ton, it 

 may all be fed daring the first year, or a part of it may be kept 

 over for the ensuing year. In slowing away the hay, ten or 

 twelve quarts of salt should be scattered through a ton of it, to 

 impart a relish. In addition to this, the cow should receive two 

 or three ounces of salt daily, and plenty of pure fresh water. 



HARVESTING ARTICHOKES. 



The artichokes should remain in the ground in autumn as long 

 as the weather permits, and be fed out of the field during that 

 time, and just before the earth is permanently frost-bound, enough 

 of them should be dug up to last over winter; and, since frost 

 does not injure them, the rest should be left in the ground until 

 the following spring. A good way to keep them in winter, is to 

 place them on the ground in the field in shallow layers, -covering 

 them lightly with the stalks of the artichoke, or with straw, and 

 then with a little earth. If the rain wets them it will not injure 

 them. It is advisable always to keep a considerable quantity of 

 them in the stable or celjar for convenience of feeding. In the 

 ensuing spring, they are again fed out of the field until it is time 

 to plow the land, when all the tubers not yet disposed of, are 

 taken up and kept in the cellar or stable. 



THE STALKS 



of the Jerusalem Artichoke furnish excellent material for litter 

 for the cow. They grow to a hight of from eight to ten feet, are 

 composed almost entirely of pith, and are so fragile that they can 

 easily be broken into fragments. As many of them should be 

 stowed in the stable as it will contain, and the rest, if any, should 

 be stacked outside. Before bedding the cow with them, it is 

 advisable to crush them with a mallet on a block prepared for the 

 purpose. This labor will require but a few minutes daily to pro- 

 vide sufficient litter, and will make a comfortable bed for the cow, 

 absorbing and retaining the liquid manure. The stalks cannot be 

 used for fodder after being frost-killed. 

 If the food of the cow should at any time run short the de- 



