ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 551 



advantage is at present a matter of con- 

 jecture; but in the tide-water district of 

 Maryland, and also in Delaware and the 

 southern part of New Jersey, it well 

 deserves a trial. 



RHUBARB, Culture of.— Rhubarb suc- 

 ceeds best in deep, somewhat retentive 

 soil. The richer its condition, and the 

 deeper it is stirred, the better. Sow in 

 drills an inch deep. Thin out to 6 inches 

 apart. In the fall trench a piece of ground, 

 and manure it well ; then transplant the 

 young plants into it, 3 feet apart each way. 

 Cover with leaves or litter the first winter, 

 and give a dressing of coarse manure every 

 fall. 



ROSE TREES, to Clear from Blight- 

 Take sulphur and tobacco-dust, in equal 

 quantities, and strew it on the treesjn the 

 morning when the dew is on. The insects 

 will disappear in a few days. The trees 

 should then be syringed with a decoction 

 of elder leaves. 



RYE, To Cultivate. — Rye ought never 

 to be sown upon wet soils, nor even upon 

 sandy soils where the subsoil is of a reten- 

 tive nature. Upon downs, links, and all 

 soft lands which have received manure, 

 this grain thrives in perfection, and, if 

 once covered in, will stand a drought af- 

 terwards that would consume any other 

 of the culmiferous tribe. The several 

 processes may be regarded as nearly the 

 same with those answering for wheat, with 

 the single exception of pickling, which 

 rye does not require. Rye may be sown 

 either in winter or spring, though the 

 winter-seeded fields are generally bulkiest 

 and most productive. It may succeed 

 either summer fallow, clover or turnips ; 

 even after oats good crops have been 

 raised, and where such crops have been 

 raised the land will always be found in 

 good condition. 



SAGE, To Cultivate.— Put it out in 

 rows two feet apart, and the plants a foot 

 apart in the rows. Cultivate and keep 

 clean ; it does well in sandy soil. Dry 

 in the shade. Put up in square pound 

 packages hard pressed. 



SEED CORN, How to Select— In shell- 

 ing corn for seed, discard the butts and 

 tips, using only the central portion of 

 each ear, as the early blade and root are 

 in size in proportion to the kernel used; 

 and a plant from the large grains of the 



center of the ear will get the start and 

 keep ahead of the small ones from the 

 tip. And especially select from ears that 

 have the grains as near uniformly large as 

 possible. 



SEED BARLEY, How to Select.— The 

 best is that which is free from blackness 

 at the tail, and is of a pale lively yellow, 

 intermixed with a bright, whitish cast, 

 and if the rind should be a little shriveled, 

 so much the better, as it indicates a very 

 thin skin. 



SEED OATS, How to Select.— Place 

 your oats in a heap at the leeward end of 

 the threshing floor, on a day when a gen- 

 tle breeze is blowing through the barn. 

 Take a common wooden flour-scoop, and 

 throw the oats against the wind, towards 

 the other end of the floor. A few min- 

 utes' experience will enable you to throw 

 them so that they will fall in a semi-circle 

 at a nearly uniform distance from where 

 you stand. The oats which fall farthest 

 from you are the best for seed, and are 

 to be carefully swept together as fast as. 

 they accumulate in considerable quanti- 

 ties. 



SEED POTATOES, How to Select— Be 

 careful to secure large, sound, and well- 

 ripened seed; cut the large potato into 

 pieces of one eye. Begin at the butt 

 end; cut towards the center, leaving a. 

 due proportion of the potato with each 

 eye. Potatoes inadvertently left undug, 

 if they do not freeze during winter, in- 

 variably produce sound ones, larger and 

 more abundant than those kept in the 

 cellar through winter. This has lately 

 suggested the plan of keeping potatoes 

 excluded from the air from the time of 

 digging and planting, which has been 

 found to invariably prevent rot. 



SEED WHEAT, How to Select— Seed 

 wheat should not only be thoroughly 

 cleaned from the seeds of weeds, but 

 small grains should be taken out with a 

 separator or suitable fanning mill, leaving 

 only the largest, plumpest, and earliest 

 ripened kernels. 



SEED, How to Test the Vitality of— 

 By placing almost any of the larger seeds 

 and grains on a hot pan or griddle, 

 where the vitality is perfect the grain will 

 pop, or crack open, with more or less 

 noise. Where the vitality is defective or 

 lost, it lies immovable in the vessel. 



