The Lancaster Farmer. 



Prof. S. S. HATHVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., MARCH, i876. 



Vol Vm. No. 3. 



TO OUR CONTRIBUTORS. 

 AVe wovilil ivspei't fully boi; leave to return 

 our sineere tlmnks to the eoutril)iitors to TllK 

 F.\ioiEU whohavc! so jironiptly and so contin- 

 uously sustained us during the pa.st year, an<l 

 who are doing the same good work for us in 

 the present. M> would eheerfully pay the 

 [HLstaite on their eontriliutious, if the law drd 

 not demand pre-i)aynieut before they can leave 

 the ollices where they are mailed, and we have 

 often thoULcht that .tome exceptions in lla^ jiost- 

 aL;e laws should have lieen made I'avorahle to 

 lliedi.sseminalion of knowledge by such means; 

 for, it is asking a good <h'al of a coidribulor 

 to solicit the, results of his labor and research 

 as a gratuity, and then require him to Ijuv 

 his own pens, ink, paper, and envelopes, and 

 also to jiay his own postage. It would jierhaps 

 be a loss to the Department to grant such a 

 privilege proniiscuDUsly, because such mail 

 matter might not be lifted oiU. of th(M)tlice, but 

 where it was intended for a res]ionsible public 

 journal, it would not fail to be lifted and I'aid 

 ■for. 



The present mail system is imperatively 

 literal in its operation, no favors to any one 

 save the naked letter of the law, and it oper- 

 ates in a rigid manner, perhaps not fully com- 

 jirehended by all corres|)ondenls and contribu- 

 tors. For instance, if a manuscrii)t is mailed 

 requiringl2 cents postage thereon, and only 11 

 centsare attached to it in stamjis, the 11 cents 

 mean wilhiii<i, and it is immediately sent to the 

 Dead Letter OHice at Washington, and cannot 

 be gotten out of it without paying 24 cents for 

 it, and an additional three cents for the order. 

 A case in point is now before us. Prior to the 

 T 19tli of Fel)ruary a letter to us, containing eon- 

 triliutious to The Fahmeu, was mailed from 

 Philadelphia. We cannot tell liow long prior 

 to that date it was, for the date outhe outside 

 isillegible, and inside it was without date ; but 

 on the tilth it received the stamp ot the "Dead 

 Letter" Otlice at Washington. We were in- 

 formed of the fact on the 'H'Ah and reipiested to 

 send 12 cents in postage stamps, and prepay 

 our order for it. making 1.') cents. On Monday, 

 the -iSth, we received it, al)0ut one half of its 

 face covered with stamps, and post-mai^\S, and 

 cancellations, and oni/ on its back, as if it had 

 passed through a foreign "cii'cumlocution 

 otlice." It was a double letter and required six 

 cents postage, but was enclosed in a two cent 

 envelope instead, which, under the law, of 

 course meant nothing. Of course, anybody 

 might make a mistake of this kind — we have 

 often made it— but as we have all our envelopes 

 impressed with our own business device, our 

 gentlemaidy otlicials here always return them 

 to us to have them properly stamped, without 

 sending them to the Dead Letter Ollice, 

 althouLrh we do not think they are under any 

 obligations to do .so. In this case we valued 

 the eontriliutious at far above the amount of 

 postage we paid, but sometimes we receive let- 

 ters in the same round aliout expensive man- 

 ner, asking us to do things that cost us con- 

 siderable labor or expense, and can only an.swer 

 them liy paying return postage. 



AVhat we wish to suggest is this : that our 

 contrilnitors and correspondents should always 

 be sure to pay the full amount of postage — any 

 thing .short of that, no matter how small, 

 rimnts as nothing. Also that they should have 

 printed on the envelopes their business, name, 

 and address ; so that when they have failed to 

 atlix the right amount of postage, tlie letter 

 may be returned to them again, although we 

 are not sure that all postmasters would respect 

 it, for in a large otlice and in a large city the 

 writer might be too far av.ay to receive any at- 

 tention. Hut those who keep their private 

 box, it would he little tnndile to throw it in 

 with their other mail matter. We liave another 

 .suggestion in this counection to make : when 



! a corres])ondent asks for informal ion that can- 

 I not be given through the cohuuns of 'I'liK 

 Fakmki!, he should enclose eitlier a three-cent 

 stanii), or a postal card. These little items, .so 

 1 insignilicant in themselves when singly con- 

 sidered, amount to quite a "plum" during the 

 course of a year, .\iiswering a (piestiou or a 

 request, in which tlie asker alone is interested, 

 is surely worth what the answer costs, whether 

 it is in the allirmative or the negative. 



We know that our readers, coid libutoirsand 

 (!orrespou<lcnts all mean to do what isfairand 

 just, but it is human to forget, or even to 

 neglect, and therefore we have deemed this 

 admonition might do some good in (piarters 

 iiutsideof thepaleofourown inunediatc house- 

 hold. 



ARTICHOKES. 



We u.sc this term in the plural, because, al- 

 though not all our readers may be aware of it, 

 yet there are two very widely distinct plants 

 that bear the name of nrlirhiki — not only dis- 

 tiutil in species, but al.s<i in genera and family, 

 one belonging to the family (,'YAN'.\ii.i;, ,and 

 the other to the family CiiMrosrr.K. The 

 most familiar suliject to the |)cople of this 

 country is what they call in England the 



Jerusalem Artichoke, 



( IfcHatUhufi tubcrosun,) 



a small sun-flower, bearing nutritious tubers, 

 for whiirh it is cultivated. It is a hardy pe- 

 rennial of Brazil, and was first carried to 

 England in the year ItJlT, where it soon be- 

 came exceedingly popular as an esculent, be- 

 ing thought much superior to the potato. 

 Loudon says that the name Jerusalem is 

 a corruption of the Italian word for sun- 

 flower — (jirasole. Its name of artichoke is 

 probably derived from a resemblance in the 

 taste of its roots to the "bottoms " of the true 

 artichoke. The stalks are large, and fre- 

 quently attain the height of ten feet. The 

 roots are produced in great quantity, the 

 crops sometimes exceeding two thousand 

 bushels per acre. During the past few 5ears 

 they have been much extolled for agricultural 

 piuposes ; and, indeed, they woidd seem bet- 

 ter suited for the fanner than for the kitchen 

 garden. 



C'liLTUKE. — The .Jeru.salem artichoke is not 

 very particular in regard to soil or situation ; 

 it is, however, best pleased with a light and 

 moist soil, having a free exposure. It requires 

 little attention, and is so much inclined to 

 perpetuate itself that it may even become a 

 nuisance in small gardens. It is [jropagated 

 in the same manner as tlii^ potato, l)y sets of 

 the large-sized tubers. Plant them in March 

 or April, according to the forwardness of the 

 ■season, in <lrills three feet apart, an<l at dis- 

 tances of tvv'elve (jr (ifteen implies in the drill ; 

 cover the sets aliout three inches deep. Keep 

 the soil light, and draw a little around the 

 stems for tlieir support. He exceedingly care- 

 ful to guard against the intrusion of weed.s. 

 The tuliers can be taken up as wanted for 

 use during the months of September and Oc- 

 tober, but in Xiivenilier they are to be raised 

 for iire.servatiou through tile winter, in .sand 

 («• earth. The smallest piece let! in the 

 ground proves troublesome by vegetating in 

 the following spring. The crop, however, 

 may remain where grown, as it does not suffer 

 from the frost. 



ITsE. — In an agricultural point of view, 

 this plant deserves a high position. It is ex- 

 ceedingly hardy, bearing exposure to the se- 

 vere weather of winter without injury ; it can 

 be grown on poor .soil, without the aililition of 

 much manure; it re(piires little altention, 

 and is distinguished by great pro(hictiveness. 

 The stalks make very good fodder, if cut be- 



fore the llowei-s have fully opened ; while the 

 tubers are thought iiarticularly valuable for 

 cows, sheep and stock pigs. When preiiare<l 

 plain for Ihi' table, the roots are rather a sec- 

 ond-rate dish. Alter having been boile<l soft 

 or tender, they are to be peeled, anil then 

 sl(nved with wine and liutter. Hy many per- 

 .sons they are then considered nutritious and 

 possessed of a good flavor. (^:ltcnrk'i Oar- 

 dene r'x Text- Book.) 



The most common use ninde of these tubers 

 in Lancaster county is in the form of pickles, 

 of which We havi' eaten some excellent ones ; 

 and for this ]iinpose they are dressed In sev- 

 eral .styles, alter the manner of walnuts, cit- 

 rons, cauliflowers or cucumlK-rs. They are 

 .said, also, to make an excellent .s;ilad when 

 thinly sliced down and properly .sea.soned. 



European Artichoke. 



(Cyanaru horlcnitis et xcotytnuK.) 



This artichoke is a perennial from the south 

 of Einope. which was cultivated in England 

 as early as the year l.VSO. It is naturally a 

 marine plant, and ha.s gradually been un- 

 proved by (hunesticalion. The botanical 

 name, according t<i Columella, is derived from 

 the Latin word riiura. because the ancients 

 were accustomed to apply ashes to the land In 

 which the plant was gi-own. It rcsendiles a 

 gigantic thistle, aiul its flower-heads, before 

 blooming, have .somewhat the appearance of a 

 small pine-apple, at which time they are highly 

 )iri/.cd on Kuropi'an tables, [larticularly by the 

 French. There are two varieties, viz. : the 

 Oral Green (Ci/nnura sralymus) and the J{cd 

 or Globe {C. horlenxis). Tlie latter h;is a pur- 

 jile head, and is generally most esteemed, hut 

 the first has the advantage of grtater hardi- 

 hood and |iroductiveness. 



('ULTi'iuc— The artichoke is propagated by 

 seeds, or Ijy suckers from old roofs. It flour- 

 ishes best in soil which is deep, liglit and rich ; 

 dry in winter, but somewhat moist in the 

 summer season. The situation should l)c 

 open, and free from the influence of trees. 



When you wish to raise seedlings, you may 

 sow as soon as the frost leaves the ground in 

 s|)rinir. One ounce of .seed will produceabout 

 six hundred plants. Sow in drills one foot 

 apart and two inches deep. When the stems 

 are an inch high they may be thinned out to 

 distances of ten inches in the drill. Keep the 

 ground liszht, and free from weeds, by tlie oc- 

 casional use of the hoe. At the approach of 

 cold weather protect tlie bed by covering with 

 litter, and in the following sjiring remove the 

 plants to their permanent location, in the 

 manner directed below for suckei-s. 



The suckers are afforded by the old roots 

 early in spring. They are fit for transplanting 

 when eight or ten inches in height. After the 

 ground for the bed has been selected, it should 

 be spaded deeply, and manured with good rot- 

 ten dung, seaweeil, .salt, or anything of a .saline 

 charai'ter. Slip the young .shoots from the 

 parent root, and reject all that are tough and 

 woody. The loose outside leaves ought to be 

 pulled otT so that the lieart can be seen. If the 

 shoots have been for .some time exposed to tlie 

 air, they are much benefited by being placed 

 in water for three or four hours before jilant- 

 ing. They may then be set out by the dibble 

 in rows three liv four feet apart, with about 

 half their length below the surface. They 

 ought to be watered every evening until they 

 become finally established, and subsequently 

 during times of drought ; by this means the 

 size and suceulency of the edible parts will be 

 much increa.sed. 



The only cultivation needful during spring 

 ami summer, is to keep the soil clean and mel- 

 low, as well as to apply water in dry weather. 

 Under such treatment, a few heads for use 

 may be expected between August and Xovein- 



