JERUSALEM 



226 ARID AGRICULTURE, 



and knocks off the soil or loose roots with, a 

 coarse knife. These partly-eaten roots are fed 

 to stock hogs. 



It has been thought that our winters were 

 too cold for this kind of stock feeding, but our 

 falls are usually open, and considerable time is 

 available for the pasturing of root crops before 

 freezing weather gets too severe. 



The artichoke is the most hardy tuber grown. 

 It may be grown far north and left in the ground 

 over winter. Its principal use is as feed for 

 swine and it is especially valuable in pig pastures 

 for brood sows which get a good amount of ex- 

 ercise in rooting out the tubers. This is one of 

 the plants which give the largest yield of food 

 per acre. Yields have been known of over seven 

 hundred bushels of artichokes per acre. This 

 tuber is made considerable use of as human food. 

 It is usually sliced and eaten raw in salt and 

 vinegar, but in Europe it is often boiled or other- 

 Avise prepared like potatoes. 



The artichoke is a tuberous rooted sunflower 

 and ordinarily only the tubers are valuable, 

 though sometimes where grown thickly on the 

 ground, the tops are cut and cured for forage. 

 It may be left in the soil year after year withoul 

 replanting. When this is done, to prevent the 

 plants getting so thick that they crowd each 

 other, they are cultivated, leaving strips of plants 

 about three feet apart one way and a foot and 



