THE GENESEE FARMER. 



141 



THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 



A few years ago the agricultural papers teemed 

 with the most extravagant recommendations of 

 this plant. It would grow anywhere and every- 

 where, required no cultivation, produced enor- 

 mously, and added greatly to the fertility of the 

 soil. Allen's "American Farm Book" stated 

 that it would yield two thousand bushels of tubers 

 per acre, and from four to five tons of dry tops, 

 equal to the best hay ! 



Many farmers were induced to plant it. It need 

 hardly be said that the result was not equal to 



COMMON ARTICHOKE. — (FIG. 1.) 



their anticipations. Those who had praised it so 

 immoderately, were justly censured, and its culti- 

 vation was soon all. but generally abandoned. 



This result is much to be regretted. The plant 

 has many qualities to recommend it. Like the 

 parsnep, the tubers can remain in the soil all win- 

 ter without injury. It will grow on poor sandy 

 soil, and yield a large amount of produce. It 

 draws most of its nourishment from the atmos- 

 phere, and its growth and consumption on the 

 farm adds largely to its fertility. It is extensively 

 grown on many of the poor sandy soils of Europe. 

 Bottssingault, several years ago said, " Of all the 

 plants that engage the husbandman, the Jerusalem 

 artichoke is that which produces the most at the 

 least expense of manure and of manual labor." 

 The French agricultural writers of the present 

 time speak of it as one of the best renovating 

 plants that can be grown on a farm. 



The cultivation of the Jerusalem artichoke the 

 first year is very similar to that of the potato. 

 When once in the soil, however, no further plant- 

 ing is required. There will always be tubers 

 enough left in the soil for the next crop. It is im- 

 possible to get them out. This is one of the objec- 

 tions to the plant as an ordinary farm crop. 



TELLOW ARTICHOKE. — (FIG. 2.) 



The usual plan is to select a piece of ground-- 

 generally some spot that can not be profitably cu! 

 tivated with anything else — and plant it with arti 

 chokes and let them occupy it for a number of 

 years. The tubers should be planted iu rows three 

 feet apart, and twenty inches in the rows. The 

 next season there will be enough tubers left in the 

 ground for a crop. They may be thinned out by 

 running a plow or cultivator through them. This 

 is all the cultivation required. 



In France, it is not uncommon to feed off the 

 tops with sheep in the fall. In this country, this 

 may be done, and the pigs afterward may be al- 

 lowed to root up the tubers. We can not but 

 think that there are many places on American 

 farms where the Jerusalem artichoke may be raised 

 to considerable advantage. 



There are two varieties of the Jerusalem arti- 

 choke in cultivation. Fig. 1 is the more common 

 kind. Fig. 2 is the Yellow variety, and is usually 

 smaller and more irregular in shape. The latter is 

 the best for garden culture, being of a more agree- 

 able flavor when cooked for the table. 



Lice on Calves. — Feed them well; keep their 

 pens clean and well littered with fresh straw, and 

 they will seldom be troubled with lice. A little 

 sulphur in their milk is also good. If they are af- 

 fected, Scotch snuff or a solution of tobacco will 

 kill the lice. 



