A R TIC HOKE — BEAN 463 



The fleshy scales of the head and the soft "bottom" of the head 

 are the parts used. The young suckers or shoots may also be tied 

 together and blanched, using them like asparagus or Swiss chard. But 

 few of these plants would be needed for a family, as they produce a 

 number of flower-heads to a plant and a quantity of suckers. The 

 plants should be set from 2 to 3 feet apart in the row, the rows being 

 3 feet apart. This vegetable is not quite hardy in the North, but a 

 covering of leaves or barnyard litter to the depth of a foot will protect it 

 well. The plant is perennial, but the best yield comes from young plants. 

 If the heads are allowed to ripen, they reduce the vitality of the plant. 



Artichokes have never become so popular in this country as to have 

 produced a long list of varieties. Large Green Globe is most commonly 

 offered by seedsmen. Edible heads should be secured the second year 

 from seed. Seedlings are likely to vary greatly, and if one is fond of 

 artichokes, he would do better to propagate by suckers from the best 

 plants. 



These plants make no mean decorative subjects, either massed or 

 in a mixed border, and from the rarity of their culture are always 

 objects of interest. 



Artichoke, Jerusalem, is a wholly different plant from the above, 

 although it is commonly known as "artichoke" in this country. It 

 is a species of sunflower that produces potato-like tubers. These tubers 

 may be used in lieu of potatoes. They are very palatable to hogs; 

 and when the plant becomes a weed, — as it often does, — it may be 

 exterminated by turning the hogs into the field. Hardy, and will grow 

 anywhere. 



Bean. — Every garden grows beans of one kind or another. Under 

 this general name, many kinds of plants are cultivated. They are all 

 tender, and the seeds, therefore, should not be planted until the 

 weather is thoroughly settled; and the soil should be warm and loose. 

 They are all annuals in northern countries, or treated as such. 



The bean plants may be classified in various ways. In respect to 

 stature, they may be thrown into three general categories; viz. the 

 pole or climbing beans, the bush beans, and the strict-growing or up- 

 right beans (as the Broad or Windsor bean). 



