THE CARDOON. 



523 



Fig. 298. 



at a distance of abont four feet from eaeli otlier. Marks 

 are made along tliese furrows three feet apart, and three or 

 four seeds planted at each spot thus indicated. If the soil 

 renders it necessary a spitful of earth may be removed and 

 replaced by well rotted manure, and the seeds sown about 

 an inch deep. The seeds should be sown in quincunx 

 fashion. If the weather is dry and warm, the seeds should 

 be well watered, and they will strike in a few days. As 

 soon as the little plants are above the ground, the weakest 

 should be carefully removed. 



Those who prefer sowing in a seed bed should wait till 

 the plants are four or five inches in height and then trans- 

 plant them into the open ground with great care, the little 

 root being ah-eady pretty long. 

 The earth round them should be 

 well pressed down and watered, and 

 the plants shaded until they have 

 again rooted. As it is not until the 

 month of August that the Cardoon 

 begins to be vigorous, crops of salads 

 may be sown and gathered in the 

 meantime. It cannot be repeated too 

 often that the finest Cardoons can 

 only be obtained by frequent and 

 copious watering, the dose being 



increased as they grow larger. If the weather is warm 

 and dry, at least a wateringpotful of water should be 

 given to each plant every other day. In the month of 

 September the blanching process is commenced, and this is 

 done in quite a different way to that practised in this 

 country. The plants are simply tied up rather closely, and 

 then a lot of long litter placed round each in a close tidy 

 way, the straw or long litter being tied by small bands of 

 the same material. The longest leaves of the head are left 

 free above this blanching material. But the Cardoon is so 

 fiercely armed that it requires a little care to get at the 

 great plants to tie them up, &c., without being severely 

 pricked. To obviate this three sticks are used — one of 

 them shortj and connected with the other two by strong 



Mode of Tying-up the Cardoon 

 for Blanchiug. 



