78 THE NEW RHUBARB CULTURE. 



out artificial heat is by the use of cold frames made 

 rather deeper than ordinary, to allow full growth of the 

 stalks. Some cold frames are sunken pits, two feet deep 

 and covered with sashes. But the usual way is to 

 inclose with boards a patch of rhubarb thickly planted, 

 and cover it with sash at the proper season, usually in 

 December. The only heat supplied is that of the sun 

 retained by the glass, and that afforded by a mixture of 

 manure and earth, banked up against the sides. Some 

 growers cover the plants with 18 inches of litter or 

 coarse manure during cold weather, also putting on the 

 sash and straw mats or wooden shutters, the object being 

 to keep the soil in the frames from freezing deeply. The 

 covering is raked off as soon as the coldest weather is 

 past. Most growers use no protection other than the 

 glass. 



The care of cold frames for this hardy plant is so 

 simple and easy that a beginner will have no trouble. 

 A little ventilation must be given on warm days, by 

 raising the sash slightly. Watering with a solution of 

 nitrate of soda, a teaspoonful to a pail of water will 

 help force the growth. Not much water is needed and 

 many do not water at all. A board shutter, like the one 

 illustrated, put over each sash on cold nights will prove 

 a help, but the shutter is not an essential for rhubarb, 

 as a freeze does not permanently injure the plants. Stir 

 the soil with a hoe and pull the weeds. 



The illustration shows a good specimen of a double- 

 sash rhubarb frame without heat other than that sup- 

 plied by banking up with manure on the outside. For 

 this purpose the rhubarb is set 2 x 3 feet, and the frame 

 is put on without moving the plants. Two rows of 

 sash cover the frame and are put on the last of Decem- 

 ber, and the sides are banked at the same time. This 



