It puzzles and saddens me to witness the obscurity to which Jerusalem artichoke, one of the finest of tubers, has been relegated. In America it is used only raw, for salads; and in Italy, except for a few districts in the northwest, it is neither known nor heard of, despite the fact that the plant it is the root of, a variety of sunflower, is widely grown. But it is cultivated for its oil-bearing seeds and the delicious root is discarded.

Near my hometown, there are acres and acres