of long, clean wheat or rye
straw, placed up and down the plant, and tied together with small cord
or strong matting. The leaves will thus blanch without being earthed up,
and speedily become white. This process is a good one, is economical,
and presents a neat appearance.

"In either of the methods, it is very necessary to be careful that the
plants are perfectly dry before they are enveloped in their covering:
they will otherwise rot." In about three weeks after being tied up, the
cardoons will be fit for use.

_Harvesting._--When the stems and midribs of the leaves are thoroughly
blanched, they are ready for use. Until the occurrence of severe
weather, the table may be supplied directly from the garden: but, before
the closing-up of the ground, "the plants should be taken up, roots and
leaves entire, and removed to the cellar; where they should be packed in
sand, laying the plants down in rows, and packing the sand around them,
one course over another, till finished. In this way, they not only keep
well, but become more perfectly blanched."

_To raise Seed._--Allow two or three plants to remain unblanched, and
leave them in the ground during the winter, protected by straw or other
convenient material. They will grow to the height, and flower and seed,
as before described. One plant will afford sufficient seed for any
common garden.

_Use._--"The stems of the leaves, as well as the mid-ribs, when
blanched, are used for soups, stews, and even for salads, in autumn and
winter. The longer these parts of the plant are, and the more rapidly
they are grown, the more they are esteemed, on account of their greater
crispness, tenderness, and color." The "Gardener's Chronicle" gives the
following directions for dressing them:--

"When a Cardoon is to be cooked, the solid stalks of the leaves are to
be cut in pieces about six inches long, and boiled, like any other
vegetable, in pure water (not salt and water), till they are tender.
They are then to be carefully deprived of the slime and strings that
will be found to cover them; and, having been thus thoroughly cleansed,
are to be plunged in cold water, where they must remain until they are
wanted for the table. They are then taken out, and heated with white
sauce, or marrow. The process just described is for the purpose of
rendering them white, and of depriving them of a bitterness which is
peculiar to them. If this is neglected, the cardoons will be black, not
white, as