KITCHEN GARDEN. 155 



choosing, it never fails to prefer the lettuce to the 

 artichoke. 



The processes of watering and hoeing are next in 

 order of time, and are either multiplied, or decreas- 

 ed, or discontinued, according to circumstances. 

 The rules which regulate these labours are two : if 

 the weather be dry, and you wish to hasten the ma- 

 turity of the fruit, you must hoe often and water 

 every other day. If, on the contrary, the weather 

 be wet, and you have other beds to draw from for 

 the supply of the current year, hoe seldom and do 

 not water at all ; and by this management you may 

 either quicken or retard the progress of the plant. 



To have large artichokes, you must leave only one 

 sprout to a stem ; and in this case, the taking off the 

 surplus suckers should not be delayed beyond the 

 first week in July. If, on the other hand, you dis- 

 regard the size of the fruit, you may leave the plant 

 to regulate its own products as to number. The 

 maturity of the fruit is indicated by the opening of 

 the scales, and we must be careful to take it before 

 the flower begins to show itself; and in doing this, 

 to cut it close to the ground, leaving no stump to 

 impoverish the root. It is a practice not uncom- 

 mon to dig and loosen the earth around the roots 

 in the fall of the year, and in dry and warm winter 

 climates the practice is not a bad one ; but in ours, 

 where frosts are severe and snows frequent, it would 

 be highly injudicious, as earth recently dug absorbs 

 and retains moisture more, and, consequently, freezes 

 sooner and deeper, than that which has not been 

 worked for some months preceding ; a remark 

 which, by-the-way, calls us to the consideration of 

 the best means of preserving the outstanding plants 

 during the winter. 



Various means have been employed for this pur- 

 pose. That which is most commonly used is, after 

 stripping off the dead or decaying leaves, and trim- 

 ming down the sound ones to three or four inches, 



