252 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



erally done during the late afternoon, but should be completed 

 early enough to permit the foliage to become reasonably dry before 

 closing the frames for the night. If the plants are young and very 

 tender it will be important to avoid too great a degree of moisture. 

 Serious losses from "damping-off" often result from excessive mois- 

 ture, especially at night, when evaporation is not so rapid as during 

 the day. Many gardeners make the mistake of watering too often 

 and not doing the work thoroughly. Under ordinary conditions 

 twice a week will be often enough to apply water, and in winter, 

 when evaporation is at its lowest point, once a week will be sufficient. 

 In watering the sash-covered frames it is necessary either to remove 

 the sash or to prop them up high enough to permit working under 

 them. As a rule the sash are taken off early in the morning of a 

 bright day, the soil is stirred, sometimes a little fertilizer is added, 

 later in the day the bed is watered, and toward night the sash are 

 replaced. 



ANISE. 



This is an annual. Leaves used as a garnish. The seeds are 

 the source of Anise oil. This plant grows well and gives a good 

 yield of seed. Seeds should be soaked over night in warm water and 

 sown thickly. (U. Idaho 10.) 



ARTICHOKE, GLOBE. 



This plant requires a deep, rich sandy loam, with a liberal sup- 

 ply of well-rotted manure, is best suited for growing artichokes. 

 Plant the seeds as soon as the soil is warm in the spring, and when 

 the plants have formed three or four leaves they may be trans- 

 planted to rows 3 feet apart and 2 feet apart in the row. The plants 

 do not produce until the second season, and in cold localities some 

 form of covering will be necessary during the winter. This crop is 

 not suited for cultivation north of the line of zero temperature. 

 After the bed is once established the plants may be reset each year 

 by using the side shoots from the base of the old plants. If not 

 reset the bed will continue to produce for several years, but the burs 

 will not be so large as from new plants. The bur, or flower bud, 

 is the part used, and the burs should be gathered before the blossom 

 part appears. If they are removed and no seed is allowed to form, 

 the plants will continue to produce until the end of the season. 



ARTICHOKE, JERUSALEM. 



This useful and productive plant will grow in any good garden 

 soil, and should be planted three to four feet apart each way, with 

 three or four small tubers in a hill. If large tubers are used for 

 planting they should be cut the same as Irish potatoes. Plant as 

 soon as the ground becomes warm in the spring and cultivate as for 

 corn. A pint of tubers cut to eyes will plant about thirty hills. 

 The tubers will be ready for use in October, but may remain in the 

 ground and be dug at any time during the winter. (F. B. 255; 

 U. Idaho 10.) 



ASPARAGUS. 



This valuable plant was formerly a luxury on the tables of the 

 rich, but is now during the season a vegetable seen daily upon the 



