EXPERIENCE IN FIELD CULTURE. 93 



here, three acres would be about the limit for any one 

 grower. There is but one variety grown in this section, 

 the Linnaeus. 



"Rhubarb is usually planted about 3x3 feet, the sets 

 being made by subdividing the old hills. About the time 

 the rhubarb begins to start in the spring the hills are 

 covered with fresh manure to induce earliness. I sell 

 my rhubarb in Washington, but a large "part of the 

 crop is shipped by dealers to places further north. Very 

 little rhubarb is sent here from the south, our early 

 market being supplied by rhubarb grown in hothouses, 

 hotbeds, cold frames, etc. 



"The crop is a profitable one on soil that is adapted to 

 it. For outdoor rhubarb the price ranges from five cents 

 to two cents per bunch of four or five stalks, the size and 

 length increasing as the price decreases." 



A Veteran Rhubarb Grower in the Boston market 

 gardening district, Mr. M. Sullivan of Eevere, kindly 

 supplies the following account which fairly represents 

 the methods employed in that section: — 



"I would select a location open and free of trees, 

 south or southeast aspect, having a deep, rich soil. Open 

 deep furrows with the plow four feet apart, shoveling out 

 all loose soil down to hardpan. Fill one-half of the open 

 furrow with the best well rotted stable manure in 

 which set the roots two eyes to a piece. Cover with the 

 hoe or a very light furrow with a one-horse plow, the 

 plants to be three feet apart in the row. The varieties 

 most cultivated are the Linnaeus and Victoria. The first 

 named is about two weeks earlier than the other, and it 

 is yet an open question as to which is more profitable. 



"The time of planting considered best by market 

 gardeners is just after the spring crop is gathered; this 

 would be in July and August. The first season, keep 



