80 ANNUAL REPORT. 
7 
Manuring. Ci dressing of ait and ashes is very beneficial ; about ba cad 
pound of salt to the square yard. Np 
Forcing.—With respect to forcing, it is very easy, with narrow beds, to 
bring the plants forward by digging trenches eighteen inches wide anda 
foot deep, on each side of the beds, and fill them with warm stable dung, 
raising the dung six inches above the level, but not covering the plants.. 
If the nights are cold, the beds should be covered to prevent freezing. 
_ Planting.—If plants are to be set out, the ground must be prepared by 
digging trenches two feet deep and filling them with equal parts of light soil 
and well-rotted manure mixed together. The plants should be set six inches 
deep, with the roots spread horizontally. Care should be taken to set the 
crown two inches below the surface. When the plants are started, they 
should be treated in the same manner as those raised from the seed. 
Marketing.—When the crop is successfully raised, only one step has been 
accomplished towards turning it into money. When cutting, do not leave 
it long exposed to the sun, for it soon wilts; but, as soon as possible after 
cutting, wash, assort and bunch, making two sizes, and of equality through- 
out. Cut the butts neatly and square, and tie very tight at both ends. 
If obliged to keep the bunches a day or two before sending to market, 
stand them in a tub with an inch or two of water, and keep in a cool place. 
Always, in handling, keep the heads one way; and when it is bunched the 
bunches should stand upright. It is desirable that asparagus should appear 
well in market. 
Varieties.—The oldest favorite variety is ‘* The Giant.” ‘* Conover’s Col- 
lossal” is a mammoth variety fast coming into favor. It bears cutting a 
year sooner than any other sort. 
Rhubarb. 
Rhubarb, although a native of Asia, is so hardy as to resist the frosts of 
our severest seasons. And of all esculents, for culinary purposes, it is the 
most easily prepared. 
Within a few years its cultivation has increased, so that immense quan- 
tities are annually sold in all the large markets. It has become so common, 
and is so easily produced, that little need be said in relation to its culture. 
But in this, as in everything else, nothing less than the best results should 
satisfy the gardener. 
Propagation.—Any one of the many varieties may be propagated from the 
seed. But as the seed does not always produce the same variety as that 
from which it grew, the better way is to take offsets with one or two good 
eyes and set them, either in the spring or fall. 
Soil.—The soil must be moist and rich, for upon the strength and quick- 
ness of the soil depend the desirable qualities of the stalk—crispness, flavor 
and succulence. 
Care.—Plants from offsets should not lose a leaf or stalk, except by natu- 
ral decay, until the second year; and in time of drought they should have a 
plentiful supply of water. 
