THE CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES 73 



seed, or more quickly from two-year-old roots. If plants 

 are to be raised from seed, drills an inch deep should be 

 made about fifteen inches apart, and the seed sown 

 thinly about the middle of April. The seedling plants 

 should be thinned out to six inches apart as soon as 

 possible. These roots will be transplanted into per- 

 manent quarters the following spring. 



In preparing a permanent plantation a trench should 

 be made four inches deep and eight inches wide ; into 

 these the roots should be placed about two feet apart ; 

 three feet should be allowed between the trenches. 

 For the first year or so none of the shoots should be 

 cut, but in the third season shoots may be cut as they 

 appear in the spring, and cutting may be continued until 

 the middle of June. At this period a liberal top-dressing 

 of manure should be given, and no more shoots should 

 be cut. 



Globe Artichokes 



The Globe Artichoke is cultivated for the sake of its 

 flower heads, the fleshy base of which is cooked and 

 eaten when mature. They do best in deeply dug land 

 with which a heavy dressing of manure has been in- 

 corporated. Fresh plants should be used every three 

 years. The stock may easily be increased by root 

 division in the spring. The suckers are taken from the 

 plant when about eight to ten inches long, the stool 

 of the old plant being carefully uncovered so as to 

 enable the young growth to be taken away with a heel — 

 that is, a small portion of the old plant attached. The 

 suckers are planted in rows, three feet being allowed 

 between the rows, and half that distance between the 

 individual plants. The young plants are to be watered 

 freely. At the approach of frost the old stalks should 

 be removed, yellow leaves entirely cut away, and a top- 



