()<;tubi:k, 11122 



r, L K A N r N f; S IN B K K C l' L T l, K K 



ttiid the tops used as a cattle feed amount to over 

 four tons to the acre. L. \V. Lighty. 



East Berlin, Pa., July 7. 1922. 



And soon after, I received another exceed- 

 ingly kind letter from friend Sibley together 

 with a circular in regard to the new arti . 

 choke, from which I make clippings as bo- 

 low: 



Mammoth French White Jerusalem Artichoke. 



As the .student of liiuM iculture knows, the arti- 

 choke and tlie sunflower are conseners. belonging 

 to tlie helianthus family. Both are indigenous to 

 America, and while it may be douhted if their 

 northern and southern limits are clearly defined, 

 we do know that the eastern and western limits 

 extend from ocean to ocean. 



Several years ago the horticulturists of France, 

 taking the American .Terusalem artichoke, greatly 

 imi)roved the tuber of this plant in size, color, 

 tlavor and prolific yield, withoiit apparently in 

 any way impairing its hardiness. The improved 

 product IS known, and may l)e found described in 

 Bailey's Kncyclopedia of Horticulture, as well as 

 in his Cyclopedia "f American Agriculture, as the 

 Mammoth French White Jerusalem artichoke. 



Recalling to memory my boyhood days, I se- 

 cured some seed of this French artichoke for our 

 table use only. The tuber carries a much higher 

 percentage of protein than the potato ; otherwise, 

 as shown by Professor Baile.v, its chemical charac- 

 ter is similar. No vegetables obtainable during 

 the winter months have proved more welcome to 

 our table; w'e have yet to find anyone who does 

 not like this improved artichoke, for when prop- 

 erly cooked the flesh is very white and possesses a 

 somewhat sweet' and nutty flavor. 



Observing the luxuriant growth of stalk of the 

 artichoke with its fine, delicate and abounding 

 leafage, it occurred to me that the stalk as well 

 as the tuber might be valuable. Therefore, cut- 

 ting some of the green stalks, and at the same 

 time cutting stalks of green corn, we placed them 

 before our horses. Invariably the horses would 

 leave the green corn fodder for the stalks of the 

 artichoke. We then tried them on our sheep and 

 swine with the same results. Our few elk and 

 buffalo seem to like them better than any other 

 food we can place before them. Our cows were 

 less unanimous, the jury splitting six to six. 



The palatability of the artichoke as compared 

 with that of its relative, the sunflower, was sur- 

 prising. Where the sunflower with its rough stalk 

 and extremely coarse fiber would be neglected, the 

 artichoke would be eaten with avidity. 



This year, Mr. Hanua, the manager of River 

 Ridge, had our head gardener and the assistant 

 head gardener in several different portions of the 

 field dig enough hills to fill a bushel basket and 

 make an estimate of the yield of the tubers. Our 

 head gardener reported slightly in excess of 1200 

 bushels per acre. The assistant head gardener 

 made his separate report, showing in excess of 800 

 bushels per acrp. but stating that he thought his 

 report a very conservative one. Being for the 

 last 12 years an invalid under the constant care 

 of a trained nurse, I requested Prof. H. H. Haver- 

 stick, our county farm bureau agent, to make a 

 verification test of his own. and his sworn state- 

 ment of a yield of 8.50 bushels per acre will be 

 found in an ajipendix attached thereto, also the 

 the sworn statement of Mr. C. L. Goodwill, one 

 of the most i>rominent and highly esteemed farm- 

 ers of this section, showing a yield of 967 bushels 

 per acre. 



Unlike the sunflower, it has a very fine leaf. 

 Its foliage is profuse, and altho the plant attains 

 a height as great as 12 feet, it is bushy and 

 bunchy in its growth; and the stalks of our en- 

 silage range from one-eighth of an inch to one- 

 half inch in diameter. 



Throueh the winter we have fed the tubers to our 

 horses, cows, sheep and swine, as well as to our 

 poultry. When we place the artichokes in the 

 boxes where the horses are eating their oats or 

 corn, they will leave the grain to eat the tubers. 

 The pigs and sheep will do the same, tho the 



cows will not always do .so, it would nt>t be fair 

 to say that our milk yield has averaged greater 

 thau ever before simply from the artichokes, liut 

 we know tliat the average has been higher. 



It is with some satisfaction that we feel our- 

 selves allowed to elect whether we shall have 

 tubers or fodder — or both the same season. (In 

 those fields from which our ensilage was harvest- 

 ed, tho the tubers are not so large, we had a crop 

 of 5:i,5 bushels per acre.) 



We have found that our artichokes do better 

 or at least as well planted in the fall as in the 

 spring. lOven when no other crop could be safely 

 put into the ground, we can plant our artichokes 

 and know that the hard freezing of tlie ground 

 or drouth will not destroy the })lanting. 



It is also a source of satisfaction to be able to 

 dig this crop of tubers either in the fall or in 

 the spring, for freezing seems iu no manner what- 

 ever to prove injurious to them. With us. during 

 some winters the thermometer will register from 

 zero to twenty-five degrees below for a week or 

 ten days in succession. Fearing no damage, we 

 may store this crop more easily where it was 

 planted than elsewhere, with the consequent sav- 

 ing in labor of rehandling. 



Personally, I have not yet reached that point 

 where 1 would recommend anyone to plant so ex- 

 tensively as we have done; but my faith in the 

 value of it does permit me to suggest that each 

 farmer plant enough in his garden for table use 

 and raise enough seed so that another year at 

 small cost he may use them if he desires. 



What we do know is that the artichoke will, 

 when grown as hay or ensilage, kill out most 

 other weeds on our farm, for its shade is so 

 dense that the other weeds are smothered. It is 

 the only crop we have ever grown that takes care 

 of itself long enough to let the farmer straighten 

 up and take all the kinks out of his back at one 

 time. 



I deeply regret that heretofore we have not 

 tested its pasture value. Yesterday we turned 

 our cattle and sheep into our pasture fields where 

 about an acre in each field had been planted 

 this spring to artichokes. Though this pasture 

 field was rich in clovers and many other grasses, 

 both cattle and sheep absolutely neglected all but 

 the artichokes, the iilants of which were 12 to 1.5 

 inches high. 



Since writing the above we have put in five 

 additional acres in our pasture, so that now our 

 planting is 95 acres. 



After reading the above you may be sure 

 I made friend Sibley at "Eiver Kidge 

 Farm" a visit; and said visit was one of 

 the bright spots in my busy life. But this 

 artichoke article has spun out so, miHjh to 

 my regret, that an account of it will have 

 to go over to our November issue. I might 

 say to you, however, that the new artichoke 

 is already growing on our grounds in Me- 

 dina, and I am at present very happy in 

 watching the growth "morning, noon and 

 night. ' ' 



A New "Declaration of Independence" 

 Needed. 



The clipping below comes from the Inde- 

 pendent. Is it not high time that we as a 

 nation begin to consider the matter? 



Labor-union coercion and oppression have spread 

 too far already; and in too large a degree w'hat 

 we have called tho American princi])lc of a free 

 man's right to work where he will has been re- 

 duced to a bit of empty rhetoric. It is time, not 

 merely for a new declaration, but for a new and 

 practical assertion, of American indei)endence of 

 such an oppression. 



