128 



GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



dicat.d by the lines drawn at the side. Whenever the 



eggs or the larvae appear, cut and burn the plants as long 

 as any traces of the kisect are to be 

 seen ; this must be done if it de- 

 stroys every vestige of vegetation. A 

 remedy much in use in some sec- 

 tions is to coop up hens in the vicin- 

 ity of Asparagus beds, and let the 

 chickens out to pick up the larvae and 

 insects. A certain remedy against 

 the Asparagus beetle, it is claimed, 

 can be made by mixing one pound of 

 Paris green in 100 gallons of water, 

 sprinkling over the plants twice each 

 week on the first appearance of the 

 insect. The varieties of Asparagus 

 now are confined to the " Colossal " 

 and the "New Palmetto," already 



described. The "Giant," formerly so much grown, is 



now nearly out of cultivation. 



Fig. 15. ASPARAGUS 

 BEETLE. 



ARTICHOKE. (Cynara Scolymus.) 



Although a vegetable as yet rarely seen in our markets, 

 it is extensively used in Europe, particularly in France. 

 The portion of the plant most used is the undeveloped 

 flower-head, or rather those portions of the flower-head 

 called the scales of the involucre. They are sometimes 

 boiled and used as a salad, with vinegar, oil, and salt ; 

 but more generally in the raw stat3. 



Another use of the Artichoke is to blanch it, by tying 

 the young side shoots moderately close together, as we 

 tie Endive, filling in between with soil to exclude the air 

 until the shoots are blanched ; this is what is known as 

 " Artichoke Salad," or "Artichoke Chard;" it is used 



