194 VEGETABLE FORCING 



of forcing, the sash are removed and the plantation is 

 fertilized and cultivated so that the roots will become 

 large enough to be forced again the following season. 



Portable, cheaply constructed houses are sometimes 

 used in the forcing of rhubarb. Such houses may be 

 moved from place to place in the field, whenever the roots 

 fail to yield satisfactory cuttings. 



Forcing transplanted roots. The more general practice 

 is to transplant the roots to suitable places for forcing. 



A common plan is to use the cellar or basement of the 

 residence. Fig. 63 shows a small bed which the writer 

 grew near the hot water furnace in the cellar. It re- 

 quired very little attention and produced more rhubarb 

 during the period of production than could be used on the 

 home table. There is no reason why thousands of cellars 

 should not produce, with scarcely any trouble, a delicious 

 supply of rhubarb that would be available from No- 

 vember until April or May, when cuttings can be made 

 from plants in the field or garden. 



It is a simple matter to grow rhubarb in deep cold- 

 frames (as seen in Fig. 64). They should be excavated 

 to a depth of about 2 feet in order to allow ample space 

 for the growth of the stems. The roots are planted close 

 together in the bottom of the pits and glass is placed on 

 the frames. This method of forcing is satisfactory when 

 the beds are started any time after the first of March, or 

 perhaps earlier in some parts of the North. More rapid 

 growth will be secured if hot manure is banked around 

 the outside of the frame, or a coil of pipe for the use of 

 steam or hot water is placed inside of the frame. Some- 

 times the roots are planted in the fall inside of high 

 frames placed on the surface of the ground. The roots 

 freeze when the weather gets cold, and later they are 

 forced by placing sash on the frames and banking them 

 with horse manure. This is a practical commercial 

 proposition. 



