130 THE GARDENER. [March 



linings ought to be applied. By linings I mean that a foot of material all 

 round the frame should be removed, and two feet of hot manure put in its 

 place. A cold frame put over a bed will forward it in the open ground a 

 week or two. 



Rhubarb. — A deep, rich, cool soil grows Rhubarb best ; but it can be grown 

 well in any garden soil if dug deeply, and well enriched with cow and horse 

 manure. The best time to plant it is just when the leaves have newly dropped, 

 although any time during winter or spring, before the buds have pushed much, 

 will do very well. Divide the old plants into single eyes, securing as much 

 root to each eye as possible, and plant in rows not less than 3^ feet each 

 way. Just cover the lower half of the buds in planting, and when finished 

 give a good top-dressing of rotten dung, which will keep out frost in winter 

 and drought in summer, and will afford nourishment to the plants besides, more 

 especially in thin soils, as the roots will be encouraged to extend up to the 

 top-dressing instead of down to the poor but perhaps moister subsoil. The 

 leaves will very soon hide the dressing completely. After the lirst year lib- 

 eral drenchings of cow-house drainage, or failing that, house sewage, will do 

 much to give a rapid, rank growth, which is the way to produce the best 

 Rhubarb. JSTo stalks should be pulled the first year unless it does extremely 

 well, when one or two may be taken from each bud about midsummer, but by 

 no means later or it will start very weakly the following spring. And ever 

 afterwards this rule should be strictly followed. The return of crop from the 

 Rhubarb plot of most villa-gardens is not worth the rent of the ground, and 

 simply because it does not get a chance to grow. If there be any troublesome 

 weed in the garden, the best way to weaken and eventually kill it is to treat it 

 as many persons, who do not understand the functions of leaves, treat their 

 Rhubarb — and that is, to pull off every leaf as fast as it makes its appearance. 

 But if it be allowed to grow strongly and only judiciously thinned, taking care to 

 leave two or three leaves to each bud, and not to pull wherever a suitable 

 stalk is found, it is wonderful what an amount of Rhubarb can be taken from 

 a very small space. 



Forcing Rhubarb. — Although I could scarcely recommend the forcing of As- 

 paragus to every amateur, I decidedly advise them to force Rhubarb, as it is so 

 easily prepared. A good way is to put up a bed as recommended for Aspara- 

 gus; and the best way to prepare plants for forcing is to make a plantation 

 yearly on good ground, giving one season's growth without gathering from it. 

 Grown this way, the plants are of a fine handy size, and have a great amount of 

 matter stored up which will yield well when forced. Of course old plants 

 will do, but the results will scarcely be so good, and old plants are difficult to 

 handle without injury. These young plants can also be forced in the green- 

 house, vinery, &c, under stages, w r here nothing else will grow, or even in a 

 cellar or any place affording a temperature of 50° and upwards. The way this 

 is generally done is to put the roots, as many as possible, into good sized pots 

 with fine soil kept moist, but not w 7 et, and another pot placed over it with 

 the joint and holes made air-tight, to secure its being properly blanched. But 

 the commonest way is to put square boxes, with no bottoms and movable lids, 

 or seakale covers, or large pots, over the plants as they grow in the ground, 

 and then cover these with stable litter and leaves to the depth of 2 feet, and 

 the same round the sides. The boxes will require to be about 20 inches square 

 and deep for large old plants ; for small plants smaller boxes will do. It can 

 be had in this way from Christmas onwards if desired, or indeed earlier, but 

 not many owners will care about having it earlier. In severe weather a cover- 



