82 FAMILY RECEIPTS. 



substitutes for capers. Old radishes are indigestible, 

 and render the breath bad. 



The earliest should be kept for seed, and require 

 about a yard of ground to each. 



RHUBARB — Rheum undulatum. 



An Asiatic plant, the stalks of which grow to the 

 height of twenty four inches and the thickness of a la- 

 dy's finger. Stripped of their outer covering, they 

 yield a substance slighty acid, much admired, and used 

 as an ingredient in puddings, tarts, pies, &c. It forms 

 a great article in the London market, the stalks selling 

 at about twenty-five cents a bunch. 



The seed should be sown in a rich, dry, sandy loam, 

 about three-fourths of an inch deep, as early in the 

 spring as possible, (if done in November they will ve- 

 getate in spring with more certainty;) when the young 

 plants appear, keep them free from weeds; if dry wea- 

 ther, water them frequently, with but a little water at a 

 time; and be very careful to protect them from the 

 mid-day sun, till they get considerably strong, for if ex- 

 posed fully to this during their infant state, but few will 

 escape destruction. A wide board placed side-wise on 

 the south side, projecting over the plants a little, would 

 serve this purpose effectually, without depriving them 

 of the benefit of circulating air. The first season is 

 their critical period, having survived that, they have 

 nothing to fear. In November, the leaves having de- 

 cayed, cover the crowns of the plants two inches deep, 

 Avith earth from tlie intervals. In April strip off the 

 covering till you perceive the tops of the plants, give 

 all the ground a slight digging, dress it neatly, keep the 

 beds well hoed, and always free from weeds. It is 

 much better propagated by slips from the old roofs, in 

 the spring months; the seed starts very readily if 

 sown in the autumn, but is very shy of vegetating in 

 the spring. 



SPINACH, OR spiNAGE — Epiuard, 

 Sow broadcast in rich ground, about the middle of 

 August to come into use in October, and about the tenth 



