PRODUCTIONS OF THE SOIL. 119 



likely way to obtain a supply of artichokes from seed 

 is to sow the seed in the latter end of January or at 

 any time in February, in a bed of good rich earth, or 

 it may be planted in drills one inch in depth, and 

 about twelve inches apart. The ground should be 

 light and moist, not such as is apt to become bound 

 up by heat, or that in consequence of containing too 

 large a proportion of sand is liable to become violently 

 hot in summer, for this is extremely injurious to these 

 plants. After the plants are up they should be kept 

 free from weeds, and the earth often loosened around 

 them. The business of transplanting them may be 

 done in cloudy or wet weather, at any time after the 

 plants are from nine to twelve inches high. After 

 having trenched the ground well with rotten manure, 

 take up the plants, shorten their tap-roots a little, 

 and dress their leaves ; plant them with a dibble, in 

 rows five feet asunder and two feet from plant to 

 plant, leaving part of their green tops above ground. 

 Take off the side suckers, or small artichokes, when 

 they are about the size of hen's eggs; These meet 

 with a ready sale in the market, and the principle 

 heads that are left are always larger and more hand- 

 some. The maturity of a full-grown artichoke is 

 apparent by the opening of the scales, and it should 

 always be cut off before the flower appears. in the 



