Encyclopaedia of Gardening 193 



namely, the Globe, and the Jerusalem; a third the Chinese is 

 seen occasionally. The Globe Artichoke (Cynara Scolymus) gets 

 its popular name from the large, globular flower-heads, which are 

 cooked and eaten with sauce. They are produced 

 throughout the summer. The plant is a hardy 

 perennial, and dies to the root in the autumn. 

 The large Green Globe is a good variety. Propa- 

 gation : To get a stock of plants, in the first place 

 seed is sown in spring, heat being given if it is 

 desired to push the plants on rapidly, but not being 

 otherwise necessary. The seedlings can be thinned, 

 and a year later put out in rich soil 4 ft. apart. 

 Subsequently the stock can be increased by taking 

 off suckers in April, and it is well to do this every 

 2 or 3 years, as old plants soon get worn out. Soil : 

 Plant in deep, well-manured soil, as the plant is THE Cl J INESE 

 a gross feeder. Ashes may be heaped round the ARTICHOKE 

 plants in autumn. Chards are the young growths (stachys tuberifera). 

 that push as a result of cutting down the Artichokes 

 in July, after a crop of heads has been taken; they are blanched 

 with straw when 2 ft. high. The Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus 

 tuberosus) produces tubers, which form the edible part. They do 

 not contain starch, and their close texture, not less than their some- 

 what earthy flavour, renders them unpalatable to many. The plant 

 is a strong grower, and should be planted at the end of the garden, 

 where it will not interfere with other crops, and where it will also 

 form a wind-break. Propagation : By tubers about i oz. in weight, 

 planted 6 ins. deep, and 1 8 ins. apart, in rows 3 ft. asunder, in spring. 

 Soil : A light, well-drained, poorish soil is best if the crcp is grown 

 for home consumption; deep, rich, moist soil may yield a heavier 

 crop, but the produce will be coarse. The tubers may be lifted in 

 November and covered with straw and soil similarly to Potatoes. 

 The Chinese Artichoke (Stachys tuberifera) has small, corkscrew- 

 like tubers of agreeable flavour, by means of which it is increased. 

 They may be planted 9 ins. apart/in rows 18 ins. asunder, in spring. 

 They like a well-drained, warm soil, but not a great deal of manure, 

 which causes coarseness. The crop may be lifted and stored in 

 sand in the autumn. 



Asparagus (Culinary). Asparagus omcinalis is one of the most 

 delicious of all garden vegetables, and as it is much more easily and 

 inexpensively grown than many people suppose, there is no reason 



why it should not be 

 grown in nearly all gar- 

 dens. Special raised beds 



AN ASPARAGUS KNIFE. f e onl j necessary in 



heavy, damp soil. Pro- 

 pagation: By seeds, which may be sown in April in well-pulverised soil, 

 in drills a foot apart. If the plants come very thickly they may be 

 thinned, and then, by the end of the season, they will be sturdy little 

 specimens a foot or 18 ins. high, and with a nice mass of fibrous roots. 

 They may be transplanted in spring that is, a year from sowing 

 into rows 2 ft. apart, and the plants a foot asunder. In another 



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