KITCHEN-GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
393 
having been done, the ground may be forked 
over, a good soaking of liquid manure given, 
and, with the exception of keeping it free of 
weeds, nothing further is required till the 
plants come into bearing in June or July. 
Artichokes may be forwarded somewhat by 
means of a framework and a covering of mats, 
and the season be prolonged in the autumn with 
similar aids. Every year, as the crop is gathered, 
the flower-stems should be cut down, as pre¬ 
viously indicated; and the same treatment with 
respect to protection from frost, removing 
suckers, forking the ground, &c., should be 
pursued. After the second year, however, a 
quantity of well-decomposed dung or sea-weed 
ought to be forked in before winter. Notwith¬ 
standing the care taken in protecting the plants 
in winter, they are sometimes injured by frost. 
During extra severe winters the stock, if im¬ 
perfectly protected, is frequently nearly all 
killed, and in this case the plan of lifting the 
survivors and starting them in heat with a view 
to obtaining a number of suckers for rooting in 
pots is to be commended. 
Artichokes seldom continue in good bearing 
longer than four or five years; therefore a fresh 
plantation should be made every third or fourth 
year. As the plants in fresh plantations bear 
later in the season than those in old ones, some 
persons make a small plantation every year, with 
the view of prolonging the production. 
If chards are required, when old plantations 
are to be destroyed, the plants should be cut 
over a little above the ground as soon as the 
principal part of the crop has been gathered; 
and when the leaves are about 2 feet high, they 
may be tied up and blanched like Cardoons. 
In Italy, besides the head and chard, another 
product is obtained from the Artichoke; the 
stem is bent down at right angles, the leaf-stalks 
collected together, and the whole covered up to 
blanch. The result is a lump called gobbo, or 
hunchback, which is tender, and said to be very 
palatable when eaten raw with salt. It is used in 
autumn and winter as a substitute for Radishes. 
Except in very warm seasons the Artichoke 
does not ripen its seeds in this country. If, 
notwithstanding this, an attempt to save seed 
be made, the heads should be sheltered from 
rain, either by gradually bending them down 
so as to throw off the wet, or by some other 
means. The seeds keep five or six years. 
The varieties cultivated are:—- 
Globe (or Large Round-headed).—This has dull-purplish 
heads, with incurved scales, and is the sort most esteemed 
in this country. 
Green (Common or French) has a conical or ovate head, 
with recurved scales. 
Purple (Violet) has a medium-sized head, pointed scales, 
green tinged with purplish-red on the outside. Is earlier 
than the preceding sorts. 
Several other varieties are described by French 
authors:— 
Gros Camus has a large flat head, pale-green in colour, 
but less fleshy than some. 
Large Green or Be Laon (fig. 1147) is most esteemed and 
is largely cultivated in Paris. 
Perpetual (fig. 1149). — Remarkable for its habit of 
growing and producing heads all the year round in 
Fig. 1149.—Artichoke—Perpetual. 
climates favourable to it. Is largely grown in the south 
of France. The heads are purplish. 
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis ).—A hardy 
perennial, native of Europe and Asia. Gerrard 
says the manured or garden Asparagus is the 
same as the wild, but, like other vegetables, 
was made larger by cultivation; that it grows 
wild in Essex and in Lincolnshire, and in great 
plenty near Harwich. Phillips’ History of Culti¬ 
vated Vegetables says:—“It is well known how 
nnfck the Asparagus is improved in size since 
Gerrard’s time (1597), and it might be still 
further improved if our gardeners were to im- 
