anxiety felt on the subject by ladies. We know that once on a steamer crossing the Atlantic the 
ladies were quite indignant because they observed the cooks and their helpers throwing the dish¬ 
cloths at each other and putting them to other inappropriate uses. We have also heard it said that 
the less you know about the dishcloths at hotels the better the appetite. 
That there should be no excuse for unclean dishes Nature has provided us with a Vegetable 
Dishcloth, and to our lady friends at the South we are indebted for several very fine samples, and 
also seed. This strange cloth is the product of a Gourd, the Papanjay, or Sponge Cucumber, 
(Cucumis acutangulus). It is a sponge-like cloth, in which the seed is enveloped, and ladies 
say, answers the purpose better than anything yet prepared by art. The fruit is large — some 
two feet in length — and the vine of a rampant growth. The engraving will give some idea of the 
appearance of the vine and the fruit, and also of the cloth-like substance formed in its center. 
The two central engravings show it as taken from the Gourd and after being opened for use. 
This Gourd is a native of the East Indies, and will not ripen far north. However, in response to 
many inquiries, we have taken pains to secure a stock of seed and tell the story of the Dishcloth. 
THE ARTICHOKE. 
The Artichoke is not much grown ill America, and yet the occasional application we have 
for seed shows that it is not unappreciated in some sections of our country. In Europe we found 
it served almost everywhere, and in almost all conditions. The por¬ 
tion used is the flower-head in an undeveloped state, as shown in the 
engraving; in fact the scales of the involucre. They are boiled and 
then served somewhat as Asparagus, and the lower portion of the 
scales only are eatable, and have somewhat of an asparagus taste. 
They are also used raw, as a salad> but really we do not consider them 
much of a luxury. The Artichoke is grown from seed, and suckers 
from the root will readily form new plants. It is a perennial plant, 
but needs some protection in the North. The plants may be covered 
in the winter with coarse manure and leaves. 
The Jerusalem Artichoke is an old-fashioned plant, and thirty 
years ago a little patch could be found in the corner of almost every 
garden. It is not, however, an Artichoke, but belongs to the Sun¬ 
flower family, throws up a flowering-stem six feet or more in height, bearing a blossom like a 
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