IP 



October, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



247 



Fruit and Vegetable Production Combined 



Mr. Taylors young orchard, Rutland Bench, B C, in which onions were grown with marked 



euocosfl. 



(Photo by G. H. ■£. Hudson, Kelowna. B.C.) 



Forcing Rhubarb' 



Claude Dyer, Canadian Trade 



ABOUT three-quarters of the total 

 amount of forced rhubarb grown 

 in the United Kingdom comes from 

 within a radius of ten miles of Leeds. 

 I'"ormerly the proportion was even high- 

 er, but the methods of production in 

 Leeds have been gradually extended to 

 other parts of the country. 



The annual crop in the Leeds rhubarb 

 district is between twelve and fourteen 

 thousand tons, and is valued at from 

 $650,000 to $900,000. The amount of 

 capital sunk in the industry is estimated 

 at $1,250,000. London takes the best 

 quality and large quantities are bought by 

 other cities. Considerable supplies are 

 also exf)orted to Germany and other 

 countries. 



The method of cultivation in force may 

 be described for the benefit of growers 

 in Canada. In its simple form the forc- 

 ing process was merely one of surround- 

 ing each rhubarb root with a pot for the 

 purpose of protecting it against the cold 

 and excluding the light. The system has 

 now been elaborated. In place of the 

 crude environment of the pot, big sheds, 

 some of them with a floor .space of a 

 thousand square yards, are used. Heat 

 is supplied by coke fires and flues running 

 the length of the shed, and the tempera- 

 ture can be scientifically regulated so as 

 to ripen the rhubarb when it is required. 



PIMX!E8S OF FORCINU BHUBAEB 



The forcing of rhubarb is carried on 

 in winter, the season lasting from about 

 October until March. Before being taken 

 into the forcing shed the plant spends 

 two or three years out in the open field 

 gathering strength. It yields no crop 



•Special rerport to the Department of Trade 

 and Commerce. Ottawa. 



Commissioner, Leeds, Eng. 



while out of doors ;the stalks and leaves 

 grow but are not gathered. Formerly 

 this process of strength accumulation 

 was considered wasteful, but experience 

 has taught growers that leaves are es- 

 sential to the building up of the plant. If 

 the leaves are taken away the supply of 

 carbonaceous matter is materially cur- 

 tailed and the plant is deprived not mere- 

 ly of strength but also of the opportuni- 

 ty of gathering strength. The leaves 

 and stalks are therefore now allowed to 

 remain until they rot away. They are 

 not, however, altogether wasted mater- 

 ial, as the decayed matter proves useful 

 to the soil. In this way fine productive 

 roots are built up. 



When the forcing season arrives these 

 roots are plowed up, taken into the sheds 

 and there planted close together. A large 

 shed with an area of a thousand square 

 yards will take the yield of anything 

 from two to five acres, according to the 

 weight of the roots. Light is entirely 

 excluded from the sheds, and through its 

 exclusion the forced rhubarb is given its 

 distinctive delicate coloring. In a few 

 weeks after planting, white shiny bulbs 

 spring from the roots. These develop 

 into brilliant yellow leaves, and at the 

 end of six to eight weeks, the stalks, 

 pink or crimson, are ready for pulling. 

 The first roots are transferred from the 

 fields lo the sheds for forcing usually at 

 the end of October and the crop is ready 

 about Christmas. A second lot of roots 

 then goes through the same process, and 

 the produce is ready for marketing early 

 in March. 



The size of the rhubarb farms in the 

 neighborhood of Leeds varies from a few 

 acres up to fifty acres and over. About 



six thousand roots are planted to an acre, 

 and if such a quantity yields four thou- 

 sand roots suitable for forcing, the grow- 

 er is satisfied. Nowadays the roots are 

 destroyed after yielding one crop of 

 forced rhubarb, whereas, formerly they 

 were replanted in the ground to be used 

 again. The grower finds that if he forces 

 the yield of two-thirds of his land' he can 

 replant it all from the crop upon the 

 other third. 



What Growers Say 



When potato growers have large 

 quantities of seed to be treated, for- 

 maldehyde gas, generated by the use of 

 potassium permanganate, is the most 

 practical disinfecting agent. Place seed 

 tubers in bushel crates or shallow slat- 

 work bins in a tight room. For each 

 thousand cubic feet of space spread twen- 

 ty-three ounces of potassium perman- 

 granate over the bottom of a large pail 

 Or pan in the centre of the room. Pour 

 over this three pints of formalin, leave 

 the room at once and allow it to remain 

 closed for twenty-four or forty-eight 

 hours. If one is obliged to plant scabby 

 potatoes, one of the methods of disin- 

 fecting here recommended should be 

 employed ; but absolutely clean potatoes 

 is a luxury which every farmer should 

 enjoy . 



Onion seed grown under certain con- 

 ditions seems to develop thick necks. 

 Our experiments conducted over two 

 years show two definite causes for 

 thick necks. One was climatic condi- 

 ditions and the second the date of sow- 

 ing. For this climate one needs seed 

 that will mature rapidly and the best 

 time to sow is as soon as the ground 

 will permit. — G. W. Baker, Tamblings, 

 Ont. 



In order to get the maximum results 

 from storing any crop it is essential 

 to have the crop well growm. In all 

 cases, with the exception of tomatoes, 

 celery and the like, which of necessity 

 must be placed in storage in an unripe 

 state, the produce to be stored should 

 be ripe and sound. 



In the early fall a good top dressing 

 of hardwood ashes for the strawberry 

 bed is most valuable. Beds supplied 

 with this top dressing of ashes produce 

 fruits of the finest possible flavor and 

 color. — W. A. Dier, Ottawa, Ont. 



One good result from transplanting 

 celery is that the straight root or tap 

 root is broken, causing a large mass of 

 fibrous roots to be formed. — F. F. 

 Reeves, Humber Bay, Ont. 



When taking up celery plants in the 

 fall they must be handled carefully so 

 as not to break or bruise the stock, which 

 hastens decay. — J. C. Black, Truro, N.S. 



