CULTIVATION OF EHUBAEB FOR EAELY SUPPLIES. 



BY J. F. M'ELROT. 



;HEEE are various ways of forcing rhubarb, and it scarcely 

 matters what method is adopted ; warmth and darkness 

 are the two essentials. It is sometimes stated that 

 rhubarb should be forced in full daylight. This I do 

 not a^ree with, for that forced in the dark has quite 

 colour enough, and while it is deficient of the excessive acid which 

 characterizes rhubarb grown in the open air, it has a delicious mild 

 buttery flavour whi^^h every cultivated palate will appreciate. 



Many place large seakale pots over the roots as they are planted 

 in the open ground, and then cover the pots with a quantity of hot 

 manure ; but the common practice adopted by those who supply the 

 markets is to dig up a quantity of roots, and plant them in ranges 

 of pits, the same being heated by linings of hot manure or hot-water 

 pipes. After they have yielded the required crop, the roots are 

 thrown aside as useless, only selecting such crowns as may be useful 

 for division in the formation of new plantations. The common 

 practice among gardeners, if they dig up the roots for forcing, is to 

 select the largest and oldet^t ; the consequence is, that the stalks, 

 though abundant, are small, and very deficient in general qualities ; 

 and very often, whep they have done their work of production in 

 the forcing pit, they are again planted in the ground for the pur- 

 pose of attbrding a crop in the ensuing year. The plan which I 

 believe will render the most satisfaction, both in its cultivation for 

 open-air production, as well as in its preparation for early forcing, 

 is as follows : — At this period of the year, having prepared a plot of 

 ground that has been well trenched and manured, with a spade 

 divide a root or a portion into separate parts, no matter how small ; 

 in fact, the smaller the better, if you but retain a healthy eye to 

 each. Let them be planted singly, two feet every way. From eyes 

 planted at this season I have pulled stalks in the following autumn, 

 though this plan is advisable only where a quick supply is urgently 

 required, as it would lessen the ensuing year's production by check- 

 ing their growth. Let the stalks remain till they have fulfilled 

 their functions of aidiug in the enlargement of the crowns, after 

 which they will decay. If you adopt annual planting as recom- 

 mended, on however small a ^cale, it will be advantageous both in 

 productiveness as well as flavou!", combined with earliness and size 

 of stalks ; and two-year-old roots will be found to be most preferable 

 for forcing. The following three varieties, as grown by myself, 

 afford their produce in succession as numbered : — First, Prince 

 Albert, fine and very early ; second, Linnteus, an excellent flavour, 

 good for preserving; third, Victoria, its principal quality consists in 

 size. As soon as the stalks commence pushing, cover them with 

 pots ; it will quicken their growth, and contribute to their flavour 

 and colour. If you have not the latter requisite at your command, 

 lightly cover them with long litter, fixing a stick in to mark the spot, 

 that they may not be trampled on. 



