EXPEEIENCE IN FIELD CULTURE. 101 



and the leaves clipped within less than an inch of the 

 stalk, if meant for distant market, but for local trade 

 the leaves are left on. Bunches are made up of from two 

 to five stalks, according to size of stalks, tied with twine, 

 and carted to market or crated and shipped. 



This grower trims old, overgrown roots with a plow, 

 simply gouging off a portion of the hills when they 

 become overgrown. The part torn off by the plow in 

 this way is of little use for transplanting, and does not 

 leave the hill in such good condition as when the work 

 is done with a spade. But for large fields the plow 

 method is a great time saver. From the parts torn off 

 by the plow, many plants can be picked out which will 

 answer for transplanting, although most of them are 

 too ragged in appearance for anything but home use. 

 Unless the hills are trimmed in some way the stalks grow 

 smaller year by year, until in five or six seasons they 

 are not large enough for market. 



On this farm the favorite variety is the Eed Mam- 

 moth, because of its large size, red color and great yield. 

 Mr. Thompson estimates the product of an acre of this 

 variety at over 3.000 dozen bunches per year, worth in 

 the Milwaukee market on the average between $500 and 

 $600. He estimates for one acre the average yearly 

 expense, taking a term of twenty years, at about $150 

 per year. When growing rhubarb in hotbeds, he counts 

 on $10 to $15 per sash of common size. 



On the Pacific Coast the rhubarb crop succeeds un- 

 der irrigation or in the cool, moist climate of the regions 

 near the sea. In California there are large growers who 

 supply the local markets and who also ship large quanti- 

 ties overland to the cities of the eastern and central 

 states. In the state of Washington the cultivation of 

 rhubarb has hardly passed the experimental stage, but 



