130 VEGETABLE GROWING. 



plants may become well established. It will take 

 a whole year to develop the plants from seed. The 

 second year a few heads are produced ; after this the 

 regular crop will come in. Care must be taken to re- 

 move all heads as they become fit, as to allow any 

 to go to seed will degenerate the plant very rapidly. 

 As soon as all the heads have been taken the stem 

 should be cut close to the ground. These heads will 

 stand shipping to distant markets if the crate is not so 

 open as to allow them to wilt. 



These plants do not come true from seed i. e., only 

 a portion of the plants raised from seed are good arti- 

 chokes, consequently we should get a start from seed 

 and then perpetuate our field from slips of these. In 

 removing suckers from the old plant care should be 

 taken that each one has some roots, else they may fail 

 to grow. All plants in the patch that do not produce 

 good artichokes should be destroyed and slips taken 

 only from the best plants. 



In northern portions of the South it will be ne- 

 cessary to protect the field with a deep coat of mulch ; 

 thi-4 will be found to be of advantage in the southern 

 portion also. 



The cultivation should be thorough and deep ; the 

 roots strike well downward, so there is little danger 

 of mutilating them. 



Use a liberal supply of asparagus fertilizer. 



