162 



GARDENING FOE THE SOUTH. 



turned outward. The Purple is earlier than the others, 

 the scales pointed, tinted with purplish red towards their 

 points, but is not so good when cooked. There is also the 

 large green, which grows larger than the common green, 

 and is most esteemed at Paris under the name Gros vert 

 de Laon. The base of the scales of this variety is quite 

 thick and fleshy. 



The ash of the artichoke has been analyzed, and it is 



found that potash and 

 phosphoric acid are the 

 most abundant constit- 

 uents, indicating the 

 application of ashes and 

 bone-dust as the best 

 special manures. 



Propagation and Cul- 

 ture. — Artichokes are 

 propagated by seed, or 

 by offsets from the old 

 roots. If by seed, sow 

 in early spring when the 

 peach is in full blossom, 

 in very rich earth, in 

 drills an inch and a half 

 deep, and a foot apart ; 

 they do still better by 

 sowing them earlier in a 

 cold frame. Transplant 

 them when from six to 

 twelve inches high into 

 a rich soil. If the beds are thinned out by transplanting, 

 so that the plants are left a foot apart in the rows, the rest 

 may remain in the seed bed until fall. The finest heads 

 are produced in a rich, moist loam, and they should be 

 transplanted into such a soil. The best compost is a 

 mixture of three joarts well-decomposed manure, and one 



ARTICHOKE. 



