170 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



The preservation of seeds from one season to another, for 

 home use, is not difficult, and may be described in three 

 sentences: ripen them well, dry them thoroughly, and 

 keep them aired and cool. 



RHUBARB. 



RHUBAKB or pieplant is becoming as indispensable to the 

 garden as corn, or potatoes, or tomatoes. No family 

 should be without it. It comes in after winter apples are 

 gone and before green apples come in again for tarts. By 

 a little attention it may be had from the last of March 

 through the whole summer. Indeed, it may be had 

 through the whole year. The root contains within itself 

 all the nourishment required to develop the leaves and 

 stalks at first, without any other aid than warmth and mois 

 ture. If then it be lifted late in the fall or during open 

 weather in winter, and put in large pots, nail kegs, boxes, 

 etc., put in a warm room, or cellar, it will soon send up a 

 supply of leaves. It is not even necessary that there should 

 be much light, for the want of it only makes the stem 

 whiter and of a milder acid. The roots thus used may 

 either be thrown away, or set out again and not used until 

 they have recovered, which will be in about one summer. 



For early spring use, select a warm spot in the garden, 

 and late in the fall dig in around your roots a good supply 

 of rotten manure. Cover them with coarse manure, straw, 

 or litter. As soon as the frost comes out of the ground, 

 knock out the ends of a barrel and put one over each plant 

 from which you propose to gain an early supply. Put a 

 quantity of coarse manure around the outside of the bar 

 rel to maintain the warmth, and, in cold nights and during 

 cold rains, lay a board over the open top. Thus treated, 

 you may have tarts in March. But the main supply of this 



