372 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1800. 



the soil and aspect ; the former of 

 which is a rich sandy loom, and the 

 aspect inclining to the east and 

 south : and, as the public are in 

 complete possession of the opinions 

 upon which it is founded, there is 

 no occasion to repeat every parti- 

 cular point in the present instance. 

 I shall therefore content myself with 

 merely mentioning some, and en- 

 larging upon others, as necessity 

 may require. 



Conceiving it to be good policy 

 for a man to avail himself of every 

 advantage that is presented, I 

 have recommended spring as well 

 as autumnal sowing, and the plants 

 of each, when arrived at a proper 

 size, to be placed in the nursery- 

 bed, at its opposite season. I per- 

 severe in this practice, lest the sum- 

 mer, in proving too dry, should be 

 equally detrimental as too wet a 

 winter : but as draining the seed- 

 beds may be so easily efl'ected, and 

 the safety of the plants necessarily 

 ensured ; so now, without on any 

 account neglecting the former, I 

 principally depend on the latter 

 sowing for a succession : besides, it 

 is attended with the least trouble 

 and expense; and if throughout the 

 operation is well attended to, suc- 

 cess is nearly reduced to a certainty. 



Again, I have somewhere ob- 

 served, that a proper mode of culti- 

 vation would greatly facilitate the 

 cure of this root ; in other words, 

 good management will ensure its 

 welfare till its arrival to a proper 

 age : and that this has ever ap- 

 peared to me of the most absolute 

 necessity, I have never failed to re- 

 present. By nothing else can it 

 acquire that degree of woodiness, 

 in which I suspec*-, the principal se- 

 cret of its cure consists. Age, too, 

 is necessary to give the plant its 



proper growth ; otherwise, when it 

 undergoes the operation, its pieces 

 will be diminutive, insignificant, 

 and unprofitable. Above all, it is 

 entirely indebted to age for its me- 

 dical virtues ; and I firmly believe, 

 that to this, more than to soil or situ- 

 ation, it is owing that Turkey has 

 been considered superior to the 

 English rhubarb. 



In this place permit me to intro- 

 duce an opinion that I have for some 

 time entertained, viz. that those 

 parts of the root are of the finest 

 quality that are the farthest re- 

 moved from the seed. This differ- 

 ence is easily discoverable from its 

 earliest stages ; and so assured am I 

 of the fact, that, but for want of a 

 supply of offisets, and one or two 

 other considerations, I should be 

 almost tempted to abandon ray pre- 

 sent, in favour of this mode of culti- 

 vation. But though, in this respect, 

 the rhubarb is evidently superior, yet 

 it should be recollected that the other 

 is less precarious, and its growth and 

 produce much more considerable. 



Although, according to every 

 public testimony, of which mention 

 will presently be made, 1 have rea- 

 son to believe my progress has been 

 more considerable than that of my 

 contemporaries, if there are any, 

 yet I have no conception that we 

 have arrived at the ne plus ullra. 

 Let us rather hope that every suc- 

 ceeding year will be productive of 

 a degree of improvement propor- 

 tionate to the advantages of in- 

 creased exjierience. As we are so 

 much indebted, therefore, to the 

 age of our plants, let me caution all 

 who have, or may engage in this 

 undertaking, never to yield to im- 

 patience ; for, with a few persons, 

 the prejudices against the English 

 rhubarb are many, and deeply 



