76 THE NEW RHUBARB CULTURE. 



gain strength after the process. By this plan the plants 

 have retained their vigor for six or seven years, if the 

 hills are kept down by dividing; hut must be renewed or 

 replaced at the end of that period. Plants are set 3 x 3 

 feet, being forced where they grow. 



A section of the interior is shown in the illustration 

 herewith. The building is about 30 feet wide. The 

 roof pitches enough to run most of the water off the 

 sashes, but if some leaks inside the crop is not harmed. 

 Each side of the roof is four sashes wide. The sides 

 of the building are of inch board the upper two-thirds 

 protected with felting paper. The banking of manure 

 covers the lower third of the sides and is applied at 

 the time the sashes are put on. The heater is one of 

 the kind often used for heating dwellings. It cost 

 $50 without the piping. The heating pipe runs the 

 length of the building about three feet high, and the 

 return pipes are close to the sides of the building near 

 the ground. The box-like structure in the picture is a 

 wooden covering for the heater. 



No attempt is made to secure ordinary greenhouse 

 conditions. Sometimes in very cold weather the tem- 

 perature goes away down, and the heater scarcely keeps 

 its pipes from freezing. But even if the leaves of the 

 hardy plant are stiffened with the frost, no permanent 

 harm is done. There are no pests or diseases in the 

 forcing house and the crop is regarded as a sure one. 

 It brings from eight to 15 cents per pound in the Boston 

 market. A very interesting feature of the house just 

 described is the way in which an extra crop is secured, 

 at slight cost. In September, two rows of dandelions are 

 transplanted between the rows of rhubarb as in the 

 illustration, the plants being obtained from a field out- 

 side. These are of a cultivated varietv. When heat is 



