918 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



tion. The big potato, of course, increased 

 in length and size; and under the spur of 

 good weather for the potatoes, and plenty 

 of water, the little one was an offshoot. 



Just now every thing of any value has 

 been gathered from the ground. Our big 

 team turned under all the trash, weeds, etc., 

 that had sprung up after the crops were 

 off, and they are well out of sight. 



To-day, Oct. 29, we were planning to put 

 in rye so as to have the ground constantly 

 occuiDied, but this morning it was rainy. 

 As it is getting to be rather late for the rye 

 for a winter crop, our good teamster sug- 

 gested that he could sow rye broadcast and 

 harrow it in, even if there was a drizzly 

 rain, and now it is all in, ready for winter. 

 You see where we practice " high-pressure 

 gardening " we expect to have some sort of 

 green crop occui^ying the gi'ound every 

 month of the year, winter as well as sum- 

 mer. Last year we had terrific rains that 

 washed quite a little of the fertile soil down 

 into Champion Brook. If the rye gets a 

 little start it will hold the soil and prevent 

 wash; and in order to avoid this damaging 

 wash, as soon as the weather will permit 

 the big team is going to plow a furrow 

 down through the middle of the garden and 

 off toward the creek; and as the gi'ound 

 slopes on both sides just a little toward this 

 open ditch, I do not think we shall have 

 much wash, for the ground is pretty thor- 

 oughly underdrained besides the open ditch. 



Besides the stuff mentioned above, we had 

 quite a crop of Hubbard squashes to divide 

 around among the children. And there is 

 another little squash called Table Queen, the 

 .'•eed of which was furnished by a good 

 friend, C. H. Peterson, Garden City, Minn. 

 It is as good as a choice Hubbard squash. 

 But they are liltle bits of squashes, and a 

 good deal earlier than the Hubbard. When 

 baked on the " half shell," and eaten with 

 butter, salt, and pepper, they are certainly 

 delicious. 



Last, but not least, Ave had two nice hills 

 of helianti. (See pages 317, AjDril 15, and 

 advertising page 21, May 15.) These came 

 from two tubers sent by the Burgess Seed 

 Co. The plant when in full bloom very 

 much resembles the artichoke mentioned 

 that my mother grew years ago. See page 

 317 as above. The yellow flowers are really 

 little sunflowers. They are covered by bees 

 when in full bloom, and bear little seeds 

 resembling sunflower seeds. The small 

 tubers are on the end of the rootlets that 

 run out two feet or more in every direction. 

 While the plant was growing thriftily I dug 

 a few of these little tubers about as large 

 as one of your fingers and about as long. 



When cooked very much as we cook aspara- 

 gus, at the first taste I had one of my 

 " happy surprises," and became quite en- 

 thusiastic over the helianti. I sent and got 

 a leaf from John Lewis Childs' catalog, and 

 prepared to give the plant a big write-up ; 

 and I would do so yet, if it were not for one 

 circumstance. One of the girls in our office 

 who heljDS to fold up Gleanings vei-y op- 

 portunely remembered what I said about 

 my " mother's artichokes ;" and she asked 

 me if I would not like a few of the real 

 old-fashioned " artichokes." Now, here is 

 where the trouble with helianti comes in. 

 Mrs. Root cooked the artichokes exactly as 

 she did the helianti, and we have had both 

 kinds for dinner twice; and I am obliged 

 to confess that the artichokes, cooked ex- 

 actly like the helianti, are just as good; and 

 I am greatly surprised that the artichoke 

 has never been made use of before for a 

 wholesome and delicious vegetable to take 

 the place of Irish potatoes.* One trouble 

 with both artichoke and helianti, as I un- 

 derstand it, is that neither can be dug and 

 kept in the cellar like potatoes. In fact, 

 John Lewis Childs cautioned me in regard 

 to the matter. Here is what he says about 

 it: 



Helianti may be left in the ground in the North 

 the same as artichoke. Helianti ■will do well in 

 Florida or in any Southern State. It does not keep 

 well out of the ground, so it should be dug as 

 wanted; and in the North, when you wish it in the 

 winter when the ground is frozen it should be dug 

 and put in earth in the cellar. It dries up if left 

 out of earth, and does not grow after it is dried up, 

 and is not good for food. You should tell your 

 readers that the helianti must be planted as soon as 

 received, as they do not keep well out of the 

 ground. John Lewis Childs. 



Floral Park, N. Y., Oct. 1. 



One of our good friends, a reader of 

 Gleanings, away off in California, is very 

 enthusiastic about the helianti, and he says 

 it yields out there a half more than pota- 

 toes. He has sent me some very nice sam- 

 ples which are much larger than we get 

 here. His address is John G. Gretzinger, 

 Hynes, Cal. 



One great objection to the helianti, as I 

 see it at present, is that the tubers are so 

 small and so scattering. You would have to 

 dig over carefully a square yard or more to 

 get all the tubers. In our Medina clay soil 

 it is quite a task to dig a single hill. The 

 artichokes are so much larger it would be a 

 comparatively easy matter to dig them. John 

 Lewis Childs gives the following as to their 

 food value : 



Dr. Koch, a well-known German food specialist, 



* Ls it not another case of sweet clover — the plant 

 that was kicked and cursed and pronounced a nox- 

 ious weed for years and years, but which is now 

 rivaling even alfalfa that has in times past blest and 

 is now blessing the world? 



