70 
THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
From the South Caiolinian. 
JEKUSAI^EM ARTSCHOKE. 
helianthcs tuberosum linn. 
This plant having recently excited some at- 
tention amongst agriculturists, as a valuable 
root crop, we proceed to give a lew hints re- 
specting its culture, derived from our own ex- 
perience, together with some accounts ol its 
yield. 
Although it is called so, it isbotanically, in no 
way allied to the artichoke, but it Is otthe same 
genus as the sun-flower, which it much resem- 
bles. The term Jerusalem is, according to Web- 
ster, a corruption of girasole, the Italian name 
for sun-flower j and it derives the appellatiou of 
Artichoke from some fancied similarity in the 
taste of the tubers with the Artichoke bottoms. — 
It is a native of Brazil, and was first carried in- 
to England about the year 1620, and before po- 
tatoes were so generally in use, was extremely 
popular as an edible root. Mention is made ol 
it in old agricultural treatises, as the Canada 
potato, to distinguish it Irom the common potato, 
and it was sometimes called l he Virginia potato. 
It was regarded as w'holesome, and is of an a- 
greeable taste, though it is never dry and mealy 
like the potato, being rather moist and soft in 
its texture, and is nutritious. Being hardy and 
perennial it succeeds in almo.st all kinds ot soil. 
It was almost lost sight ol in agriculture, until 
within a few years. Latterly, it is obtaining as 
an article ol food lor domestic animals. 
Twelve to fifteen hundred bushels have been 
obtained from an acre, when properly cultivated, 
and being relished by horses, cattle and hogs, it 
is undoubtedly the most profitable root crop 
which can be planted in the South; and perhaps, 
it might succeed in more northern regions. It 
is rich in farinaceous substance, and all animals 
do well and improve, when fed upon them. — 
Last spring a friend sent us a quart of tubers. 
We did not think this small quantity worth plant- 
ing, as they were much injured and dried up 
by longexposure. On the 3d ol May, fully two 
months after they should have been planted, w’e 
had a small space of ground , about 2 rods, pre- 
pared, and put them in. A drought ensued, 
and they did not come up soon, and consequent- 
lylostagreat deal by their being so late. They 
were planted in drills two and a hall feet apart, 
and twenty inches in the drill : but the seed be- 
ing so badly injured, the plants were very irreg- 
ular. They were plowed once, and the grass 
and weeds afterwards removed with the hoe. — 
In November we had them plowed up, and up- 
on gathering them, found we had ten bushels; 
and it is ouropinion, that if they had been pick- 
ed clean Irom the land, the yield would have 
reached twelve bushels. The tubers filled all 
parts ol the soil, and some of them are two feet 
long, consistingofsmall bulbs connected by suc- 
culent roots. 
The roots are white, and extremely tender, 
while the tubers are slightly tinged withered. — 
The roots make the best slips for planting, and 
if cut up, leaving an eye to each slip, they readi- 
ly-vegetate. When it is intended to feed this crop 
to hogs, they require no harvesting, for they 
readily withstand, pur mild winters; and if the 
hogs are turned in ,on them, they usually pro- 
vide for themselves. Por calves, sheep and 
horses, they must be gathered and washed, but 
unlike other roots, they require no cutting up.-- - 
They might be fed to sheep, by merely plowing 
up a few daily, and letting the sheep eat them 
immediately from the ground. In consuming 
this crop, the hogs gave the ground a thorough 
plowing, and by turning under the stalks and 
leaves, they add much to the soil. Some have 
asserted that it is an exhausting crop, but from 
the genus of the plant, we infer it is not. The 
leaves are large and the stalks are crowned with 
beautiful yellow flowers. 
The above was substantially the contents of 
an article contributed by us to the Albany Cul- 
tivator,, for February, 1845. In the Spring of 
1845, in preparing the plat of ground spoken of, 
for potatoes, more than 6 bushels of tubers were 
gathered, (making the yield sixteen bushels,) 
which had not been eflTected in the least by the 
frost, and vegetated finely. The ground was 
planted in potatoes, but there still remained in- 
numerable small tubers of Artichoke which had 
not been gathered, and these vegetating brought 
up a fine stand before the potatoes came up. — 
They took possession of it, and instead ol a crop 
of potatoes, one of Artichokes w'as raised, which 
produced thesecondyear over twenty bushels on 
the ground above mentioned. Our experience 
of the prolific nature of this plant, does not cease 
with the two instances above mentioned. Sev- 
er?.! acres were planted in a peach orchard at 
Pomaria last year, and under all the disadvan- 
tages ol dense shade, drought, and exhausted 
soil, they pioduced quite a fine crop; and its 
adaptation as food for swine has been fully tes- 
ted. A number ol sow's and pigs, are now run- 
ning on this last mentioned lot, and keep fat on 
w’hat they glean from the field, which has been 
partially dug over, without a particle of other 
food, it i.s a great promoter of milk in all ani- 
mals, and fully sustains the opinion above ex- 
pressed, concerning its being good food lor cows 
and sheep. It wmuld perhaps supply better food 
for ewes and lambs, than any other root we 
could grow, as the tubers are extremely succu- 
lent, and embody more farinaceous matter than 
is usually allowed to it, by those persons who 
wish to discountenance its culture, because 
the Artichoke happens to contain 76-100 parts 
of water. The great quantity of this constitu- 
ent renders it the verx' best article which we can 
give to our stock, in conjunction wdlh the dry 
food w'hich we teed out in winter. Thisiswise- 
ly ordained by the Creator, who, with the pow- 
ers and inightiness of omniscience, has thus 
constituted vegetable substances, in order that 
they may be fit and proper food lor the beasts of 
the field,, without the artificial aids of preparation, 
which man is forced to apply to the articles of 
his diet. Owing to the large yield ot this root 
we are fully satisfiedthat one acre of it, vnllfur- 
nis/i more farmaceotis matter than an acre plant- 
ed in any other root crop. The Jerusa lem Ar- 
tichoke, contains one-third more nutriment than 
thebeetwhich isextensivelycultivatedin France 
as an article of economical food. It will com- 
pete and far exceed the yield and profit of the 
carrot in our soil ; being more nutricious, and 
at thesame time, more p>'oductive — it will grow 
luxuriatfily on soils too poor for the diflerent 
families ofthe potatoe, the beet or the carrot — 
and we have tested its powers of withstanding 
drought and cold; for our crop grew well amidst 
the desert heats ol the last Summer, and the 
roots which remained in the ground during the 
late severe winter, have not been injured in the 
least; whilst it is never attacked by insects or 
disease, both so fatal to the interests of root crops 
in the Southern latitude. We believe, from a fair 
trial, that it is destined to the first rank amongst 
cultivated roots, and will finally work great 
changes in the economy in feeding domestic an- 
imals. The shading of old worn-out lands by a 
plantthatlives from atmospheric sources, should 
be sufficient inducement lor its general cultiva- 
tion. Yvard the distinguished Agricultural 
prolessor at Alport, recommended its cultivation 
both by precept and example. Arthur Young 
affirms the nett profit of its cultivation to be 
much greater, beyond all doubt, than that of 
any otherordinary agricultural production ; and 
finally, it remains in full production on the same 
spot, for ten years and upwards. 
Our experience induces us to prepare the land 
and plant them as follows; Break up the soil 
as deep as you can in the winter, either with 
turning. Eagle, or Subsoil plows ; as soon as 
the frost is out of the soil, in February or March, 
cross-plow ic with the common twister or corn 
plow, so as to have the land perfectly friable — 
lay it off in rows two feet apart, and drop the 
tubers, prepared for planting by being cut into 
pieces, ten inches apart in the row; cover them 
with a plow. When the plants are ten inches 
high) plow them over, follow’ing again when they 
become twenty inches high, and the crop is made. 
They grow well in any soil, and being a hardy 
perennial, flourish for a score ol years on the ' 
same soil. They can be eradicated by hogs, but 
will always come, even alter the hogs have 
gleaned the field, in sufficient quantities to 
make a crop the next year. After the first, zti- 
stead of planting them, they must be plowed 
down to a stand by three orfour workings as soon 
as they come up in the Spring. 
SOETMERN HEMP, or REAR GRASS, 
We find in the Tallahassee Floridian of the 
15th (says the New-Orleans Bulletin) the follow- 
ing letter from Gov. Call to Gov. Moseley, in 
relation to the cultivation of Hemp from the plant 
known by the name of Bear Grass, and indige- 
nous to the Southern States. The Floridian in- 
troduces the letter with some remarks on the ag- 
ricultural advantages and the products ofFlori- 
da, from which we give a short extract: 
“We have heretofore remarked that we be- 
lieved there was no country underthe sun where 
the honest, industrious cultivator of the soil could 
obtain a living with more ease and less labor 
than in Florida. We are every day becoming 
more and more convinced of this fact. The sa- 
lubrity and healthfulness of the climate, the rich- 
ness and fertility of the soil, the variety ot pro- 
ductions, and the ease with which they can be 
cultivated, all prove this. Almost every year 
we have a new arlicle introduced into cul- 
tivation, which has been neglected oroverlook- 
ed for years past, in the all-absorbing mania for 
raising cotton. In some parts ofthe Peninsula 
we can raise most of the tropical fruits in per- 
fection; in all parts many of them ; and in quan- 
tities, if the culture is properly attended to, to 
render their production profitable. With the 
people ofFlorida, then, there is no necessity of 
confining themselves to one particular. We 
have before noticed some ofthe most profitable 
productions— cotton, sugar, tobacco, &c. AVe 
have this week a new article to notice, which 
has heretofore been neglected— the Bear Grass. 
We have been informed by an intelligent mer- 
chant of St. Marks thr t, a year or two since, he 
received and forwarded cotton from a Georgia 
planter, roped with the rope made on his planta- 
tion from the Bear Gras.s; and that, but for the 
fact that it was not quite so well manufactured, 
it would not have been distinguished from the 
regularManilla.” 
Tali.ah.^ssek, Nov. 8, 1845. 
To his Excellency. Wm. D. Moseley, 
Governor oj the State of Florida : 
Sir: I have the honor to nresent to your Ex- 
cellency a specimen ofthe Florida Hemp, pro- 
duced from the plant generally known by the 
name of “Bear Grass.” It abounds in Florida 
in itsnative, uncultivatedcondiiion, and it is be- 
lieved that it may be propagated to an indefinite 
extent. Nothing feeds upon it, and it therefore 
requires no enclosure. It grows in the forest 
frequently to the hightol three or four feet, and, 
no doubt, may be improved by cultivation. It 
loses scarcely anything by the process ol manu- 
facture— the hemp being about the same length 
as the leaf. It is found indigenous in most of 
the Southern States, and, though being neglect- 
ed and unnoticed, from the successful results of 
experiments recently made, I feel assured it is 
destined very soon to become one 1 1' the most 
valuable staples of our country. In the present 
depressed situation ot the cotton market, owing 
to the superabundant produciion of that article, 
such a result is greatly to be de-sired. And if 
my anticipations are realized, the Southern 
Hemp will become more abundant and more 
profitable than that of the North, and w'ill con- 
tribute but little less than cotton to the popula- 
tion, wealth and power of th^ Southern States. 
The resemblance of the Hemp of Florida 
both in its native condition and after its manu- 
facture, to that of Manilla, induces a belief that 
it is equal in value if notsuperiorto thatarticle, 
and that the same process may be required for 
its cultivation and preparation lor market. Al- 
though I am well satisfied with the result of the 
experiments I have recently made for the latter 
purpose, and am convinced that, without any 
improvement whatever in the method I have 
