128 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [CHAP. VI. 



in autumn into a bed of rich sandy loam, which 

 has been dug over, or trenched to the depth of 

 eighteen inches or two feet. Rhubarb may be 

 forced by covering it with pots and manure, 

 like sea-kale ; or the roots may be planted in a 

 box, and kept in the house on a stove, or near 

 the fire in the kitchen, covering the box with a 

 bast mat, to keep the plant in darkness and 

 free from the dust, and watering frequently. 



Horseradish grows best in rich alluvial soil ; 

 and it is propagated by dividing the crown of 

 the root into cuttings, each about two inches 

 long. The ground is then prepared by trench- 

 ing at least two feet deep, and the cuttings or 

 sets are planted in a kind of furrow about 

 fifteen inches deep, with their crowns upwards. 

 The second year the roots may be taken up, 

 and the crowns cut off and replanted. As the 

 sets are planted in March, and the leaves sel- 

 dom begin to appear till the following June or 

 July, it is customary to sow a light crop, of 

 lettuce for example, or spinach, on the surface 

 of the ground over the horseradish sets ; which 

 crop is cleared off, in time to make way for the 

 leaves of the true crop. When the sticks of 

 horseradish are taken up, they may be kept in 

 sand in a cellar or out-house till wanted for 

 use. 



Temporary Crops, and their Rotation. 

 — It has been already explained, under the head 

 of manures, that crops exhaust the soil of certain 

 minerals that are necessary for their support; 

 but as different plants require different earths, 

 the same ground which has become unfitted for 

 one crop, will still continue to produce other 



