36 THE NEW RHUBARB CULTURE. 



otherwise will be determined by the paper. If highly 

 discolored and of a dark purple hue, rest assured that 

 the soil requires lime and plenty of it. Less discolora- 

 tion will indicate less acidity, and consequently less lime. 

 From five hundred to two thousand pounds of air-slacked 

 lime per acre applied to the surface of, and thoroughly 

 worked into the soil will remedy the trouble, and in 

 many cases double the crop. The lime while not of it- 

 self essentially a fertilizer unlocks the plant food in the 

 soil and places it in condition to be assimilated by the 

 plant. Wood ashes either leached or unleached will 

 also remedy the difficulty, though not as quickly or 

 thoroughly as will the lime. The action of some other 

 fertilizers is also greatly increased by the previous use 

 of the lime, and notably 



Nitrate of Soda. — By courtesy of Dr. John A. Myers 

 of New York, under whose supervision extensive ex- 

 23eriments with Xitrate of Soda have been made, we in- 

 sert an illustration showing its effects upon rhubarb. 



Following are the remarks of Mr. R. M. Winans, who 

 made the fertilizer experiments. 



"The succulent, watery stalks of the Ehubarb, or 

 Pie Plant, are most highly developed by large supplies of 

 nitrogenous manures. Heavy applications of Xitrate of 

 Soda early in the spring, before nitrification begins in 

 the soil and at the time that the Ehubarb most needs 

 a supply of nitrogen, will give the grower a very large 

 return for the money invested. 



"There being no established field of Ehubarb at 

 hand, our experiment Avas necessarily confined to plants 

 or crowns set this spring. At the time of setting, an ap- 

 plication of Xitrate of Soda, at the rate qf 150 pounds 

 per acre, was given to the crowns. Later, when growtli 

 began, two applications were made, first, at the rate of 



