ARTICHOKES FOR FIGS

Shannon News, 3 February 1925, Page 3

ARTICHOKES FOR FIGS

. ' Artichokes provide an excellent , farm of pig food that in view of the j heavy cropping capacity of this plant, ■ may be considered decidedly ecoaomi- [ eal. Pig-keepers who happen to have , a piece of ground anywhere that is not of much account might do well to | plant some of the tubers this autumn, or, indeed, at any time before the spring-—for the artichoke will grow fe'-.iywhere, and is one of the cheapest crops in the would to cultivate. It is not lit to use until the haulm has completely died down, as the roots do not develop until late in the season. Artichokes can be dug like potatoes and carried to the pens, or t,hc pigs may be folded upon them. They should not be. lifted until actually required, as being perfectly hardy, they keep belter in the soil than out of it. f£ i>igs arc folded on this crop they will spend most of their time searching- for it and will clear the ground better than ca'a bo done by any other means. In feeding value the artichoke in the raw state is said to be' equivalent to the potato when cooked, but in view of its heavy yield and the ease -with which it is grown the artichoke must be a cheap food, even if its value as a food is not so good as that of the potato. One advanage hat the artichoke certainly possesses i;s that it seldom, if eA'er, is attacked bv disease, and, unlike the potato, it will yield year after year from liomcyavod seed without showing any signs of degeneration. The plant responds ;to good cultivation, but fair crops can be grown on poor land with very little manuring and on sound land without any. If the tubers are lifted as required it is simply necessary when digging them to throw back one or two here and there for the ".text crop, indeed, tven without this precaution tilde v. ill almost invariably h c enough tuber;:: left behind ty provide a plant ior the following year.