74 THE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE CROP. 



said to be a native of the Brazils a country from which we 

 have derived many other of the plants belonging to this 

 "order/' Humboldt, however, states that he never met 

 witli it growing wild in any of the states of South America, 

 and Correa denies its existence in the Brazils. The pro- 

 per ties which the tubers have of resisting the cold, uninjured 

 by our most severe winters, together with other botanical 

 and geographical reasons, have led Brogniart to conclude 

 that it must originally have proceeded from the more 

 northern parts of Mexico. We find a description of it in 

 Gerarde (ed. 1633), who speaks of it as a "wonderfull in- 

 creasing plant/' newly introduced from America and' the 

 West Indies. He says that in 1617 "I received two 

 small roots thereof from Master Franqueuill, of London, 

 no bigger than hen's egges. The one I planted, the other 

 I gave to a friende ; mine broughte mee a pecke of rootes, 

 wherewith I stored Hampshire." In a drawing given, 

 the plant is figured bearing flowers " about the size of 

 large marigolds." The name given to it at first was Aster 

 pevuvianus tuberosus. In the early days of the potato, 

 and, indeed, for some considerable period subsequently, 

 this plant was held in higher estimation for the sake of 

 its tubers and its ready method of reproduction, than it 

 is at the present time. It was used largely as an esculent 

 vegetable, having when cooked somewhat the flavour of 

 the ordinary artichoke, from which circumstance it is sup- 

 posed its present name originated. Although acclimatized 

 by a cultivation of some two centuries to this country, it still 

 gives evidence of its southern origin, by refusing to flower 

 except in very favourable seasons, and then without ripen- 

 ing its seed. 



The botanical name given to it is Helianthus tuberosus, 

 or tuberous-rooted sunflower, which plant in appearance 

 it greatly resembles. It is a perennial, growing, under 

 favourable conditions of soil and climate, to the height of 



