CHAPTER XXIII 



MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 



Rhubarb proves a most useful dish at a time of the 

 year when garden produce is scarce and, if on this account 

 alone, a bed should be prepared in every allotment and 

 small plot. The medicinal value of rhubarb is well known , 

 but it may be wise to point out that its acid properties do 

 not agree with all constitutions. Also a word of caution 

 may be offered against using the leaves as greens. In 

 the spring of 1917 when foodstuffs were scarce, many 

 people cooked this part of the plant, and some who 

 partook of it at their meals succumbed. 



Rhubarb may be grown from seed, sown in the early 

 autumn, but as a good crop cannot be raised in this way 

 until two or more seasons have elapsed, it is far more 

 reasonable to cultivate from stools. These fleshy, 

 ungainly roots may be purchased for about sixpence and, 

 if placed in soil well dug and richly manured, in early 

 spring, stalks may be pulled later in the same season. 



If it is desired to establish a good bed which will last 

 for years, three or four stools should be purchased and cut 

 into portions so that each possesses two or three crowns 

 or buds. The bed is then dug to a good depth, four feet 

 if possible, richly manured and the crowns planted with 

 three inches of earth above them. We should remember 

 that the leaves and stalks when full grown are of con- 



