222 LUTHER BURBANK 



The improved varieties have flower buds as 

 large as a good sized fist, and are of excellent 

 quality. When in full bloom they are sometimes 

 a foot or more in diameter. They are reproduced 

 with reasonable certainty from seeds, but the 

 method of propagation generally preferred is by 

 the use of suckers which the plant puts out freely. 

 Of course these suckers reproduce the qualities of 

 the individual plant from which they are taken, 

 as roots or grafting cions do in the case of other 

 plants. 



When it is understood by gardeners in general 

 that the artichoke can be grown with comparative 

 ease, and that it produces an abundant and never- 

 failing crop of healthful, palatable, and nutritious 

 food, this vegetable is sure to attain far greater 



popularity. 



The Cardoon 



The young stems and leaves of the artichoke 

 plant itself are sometimes eaten in Europe. It is 

 necessary to blanch them by covering, somewhat 

 after the manner of celery. There is a modified 

 form of the artichoke, known as the Cardoon, 

 which is cultivated for the stems and leaves in- 

 stead of for the flower buds. These are blanched 

 by tying the tops of the leaves together and cov- 

 ering the entire plant with straw, banked with 

 earth. 



