1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
143 
trees are to be moved or packed qt once, some 
fine dry soil sifted upon the coated roots will 
help dry them. If more convenient the 
puddling (or grouting as some call it) may be 
made in an old tub. When properly puddled 
•even the smallest fibres of the roots will be 
protected, and none need be lost by drying. 
A New Watermelon—“ Cuban Queen.” 
It is some years since a new variety of 
Watermelon has been offered, and for this 
reason the ‘ ‘ Cuban Queen ” comes as a greater 
novelty than would a new variety of Tomato, 
or Pea, among which we always look for 
new sorts. The “Cuban Queen,” as might 
be expected, comes from the West Indies, 
and is claimed by Messrs. W. Atlee Burpee 
& Co., to be “the largest and finest variety 
in the world,” beyond which but little can 
be said. We give an engraving which shows 
.the regular form and markings, which are 
strikingly beautiful from the distinct shades 
of light and dark-green here intermingled. 
The solidity of the variety is one of its mark¬ 
ed characters, it weighing a third more than 
ordinary melons of the same size. Mr. B. 
assures us that in quality of flesh, thinness 
of rind, great productiveness, and keeping 
qualities, it has proved superior to any other 
he has known. The photograph for our en¬ 
graving was taken from a specimen weigh¬ 
ing 82 pounds. The introducer offers $50 in 
prizes to the raisers of the largest melons 
of the “Cuban Queen” the coming season. 
Shall We Grow Artichokes? 
Of course the Artichoke referred to is the 
Jerusalem ; the true or Globe Artichoke is 
so little known in this country that it hardly 
is necessary, in speaking of Artichokes as a 
farm crop, to use the prefix, Jemsalem. 
Whether, as thought by good authorities, the 
-diseases known collectively as “ hog cholera,” 
is largely due to feeding exclusively on 
corn, there is no doubt that the health of 
swine, as of other animals, is improved by a 
variety of food ; and while all are agreed as 
to the value of com for fattening hogs, it is 
not the best food upon which to build up the 
frame previous to fattening. All who have 
tried Artichokes fairly, as swine food, agree 
as to the value of the crop. It has the ad¬ 
vantage that it requires little labor; the 
animals do the harvesting, and the portion 
to be kept over winter may be left in the 
ground until wanted. While the chief value 
of the Artichoke is as food for swine, it 
is most acceptable to other farm animals 
as a variety, and in spring, especially, an oc¬ 
casional feed of the tubers may be given to 
cattle and horses with great benefit to their 
appetites and health. The old-fashioned, 
long white Artichoke, and probably the ori¬ 
ginal, is of little value in comparison with 
the improved varieties ; it is a poorer cropper, 
and more disposed to run about in the ground. 
The French have produced from the original 
white tuber, those with red and yellow skins, 
and of each of these colors, including also the 
white, forms more or less rounded or globu¬ 
lar. The varieties most prized by western 
cultivators are the round white and round 
red. The first of these is known as Large 
White French, and the other the Red Brazil¬ 
ian ; while this last will answer as well as any 
other as a distinctive name, it must not be 
taken as descriptive of its origin. Though 
the books give South America as the native 
country of the Artichoke, it is not, as was 
shown in an article a few years ago, on the 
origin of the plant, even 
known there, but the evi¬ 
dence all points to one of 
our Sunflowers, native of 
the West and Southwest, 
as its parent. The kind of 
soil and preparation, as 
well as time of planting, 
are the same as required by 
Indian Corn. The land is 
laid out in shallow fur¬ 
rows feet apart; the 
“seed” or tubers are cut 
to a. single eye, and the 
pieces dropped 18 inches 
apart, and covered not over 
two or three inches. 
When the plants are young 
the cultivator should be 
nm through them a few times, but they soon 
get too high for working. The crop is ready 
for use about October 1, when the hogs are 
turned on. As to the yield, some reports 
seem almost incredible, placing 400 to 600 
bushels as a medium yield, and as high as 
1,500 or 2,000 bushels to the acre have been 
estimated. At the least of these figures the 
amount of food thus produced is enormous. 
The tops, either green or cured, are eaten 
readily by horses, mules, and cattle ; several 
years ago we published on account of a lady 
who cultivated the Artichoke for the sake of 
the tops, which furnished a large share of the 
fodder for her cow. One point should be 
observed : there are few plants so exhaustive 
as this of one of the most valuable constitu¬ 
ents of the soil—potash—and the tops, 
leaves, or stalks, should in some manner be 
returned to the soil. If not fed or compost¬ 
ed, then the trash should be raked together 
and burned, scattering the ashes upon the field. 
Agricultural Light. —To-day (March 
5th) brings to a large share of the 50 millions 
of the people of the United States the inau¬ 
gural address of our new President. The farm¬ 
ing classes will see that among all the other im¬ 
portant questions their best interests are not 
forgotten. “ The farms of the United States 
afford homes and employment for more than 
one half our people, and furnish much the 
largest part of all our exports. As the 
Government lights our coast for the protec¬ 
tion of mariners and the benefit of commerce, 
so it should give the tillers of the soil the 
lights of practical science and experience.” 
It would be difficult to express a warmer 
sympathy for, or a higher appreciation of, 
agriculture, and at the same time put it in a 
smaller space. When President Garfield said 
farther that “The interests of agriculture 
deserve more attention from the government 
than they have yet received,” he stated what 
not only he, but thousands of pther warm 
friends of progressive American agriculture 
know to be too true. The government can 
do much for the farming classes, and now 
let it be seen that forthwith steps be taken 
and methods devised to bring the Department 
of Agriculture to the high and influential 
position that it ought to have held many 
years ago, and give “ to the tillers of the soil 
the lights of practical science and experience.” 
A New Demand for Flax. 
It is interesting to notice the influence that 
one form of industry exerts upon other forms, 
and the manner in which one discovery or in¬ 
vention leads the way to another. Take pho¬ 
tography, for example, an art which has given 
rise to the extended manufacture of chemi¬ 
cals and other things that, 50 years ago, were 
hardly known by name, and this in turn 
could not have been possible but for the acci¬ 
dental discovery of gun-cotton. But we need 
not go off of the farm to see how the im¬ 
provements in various arts contribute to our 
needs, and lead the way to improvements in 
agriculture. Our grain-drills call upon the 
manufacturers of India-rubber. Bessemer, in 
cheapening steel, makes possible steel-plows, 
horse-rakes, and a host of other machines 
that require steel, and even allows our pro¬ 
duce to go to market more cheaply on ac¬ 
count of steel-rails. The Reaping-machine 
was not complete until it was supplemented 
by an Automatic Binder, and this in turn in¬ 
creased the consumption of wire for binding 
the sheaves. But farmers have discovered 
that while wire answers to bind the grain, its 
use is undesirable for various reasons, main¬ 
ly because it is dangerous. The unavoidable 
scattering of bits of wire about the farm, and 
the almost inevitable mingling of fragments 
of wire with the straw from the thrashing- 
machine, have already caused many deaths of 
animals, even while comparatively few bind¬ 
ers are in use, that the fear of this threatens 
to stand in the way of the rapid introduction 
of these important adjuncts to the reaper. 
The general demand is now for an Automatic 
Binder that uses twine. The farmer has 
looked to the inventors for such a binder, and 
the demand has been met. They have sup¬ 
plied the binder, but who will supply the ma¬ 
terial for binding ? Here the inventor turns 
again to the farmer, and says in effect—“ We 
have given you what you have asked for—we 
cannot make vegetable fibres, those are in 
your line—sou must grow the flax or hemp.” 
So the Automatic Binder that uses cord, now 
largely depends upon the farmer. Other ma¬ 
terials will make a serviceable binding cord. 
Cotton cord may be used, but it is too expen¬ 
sive ; Manilla or Sisal Hemp will answer, but 
they are mainly imported; they might be 
grown in the extreme Southern States, but, 
being new cultures, almost, it would take a 
long time to establish them. Hemp is a good 
material for cordage, but its production is 
very limited. So, upon a full survey of 
all the sources of fibre suitable for making 
binding-cord, the makers of the machines 
look to Sax, not only as the best material, 
but one the culture of which presents no 
