RHUBARB. 57 



Rill ISYItB. 



TlTis vegetable has not been planted largely in the 

 Gulf region. There seems to be no natural obstacle 

 to its being produced here, and it is doubtless due to 

 the fact that vegetable growing for distant markets is 

 a new industry. This, among others, suffers severely 

 from poor transportation. 



A dark sandy loam is a favorable soil ; it may even 

 tend to be gravelly, but must not be dry. A well 

 drained clay soil is also good, and preferred by some 

 rhubarb growers. A light soil is liable to allow the 

 plant to produce large roots at the expense of the 

 " stalks,' 7 but when the gardener is aware of this, it 

 can be overcome by proper cultivation, or the plants 

 may be taken up and the roots divided. 



Whatever kind of land is used, plenty of fertilizer 

 will be required ; often fifty to a hundred loads per 

 acre are used on rich vegetable land. Well-rotted 

 muck that has been worked into the soil deeply will 

 be found a fair substitute for manure, but we must 

 not forget to supply the needed potash and phos- 

 phoric acid. 



PLANTING. 



Seed may be obtained from seedsmen and the plants 

 grown this way will require about three years to obtain 

 a crop. It should be remembered, however, that a 

 field will bear for ten years or more under proper 

 treatment. Sow the seed in drills eighteen inches or 

 two feet apart ; thin the plants to six inches in the row. 

 The seed may be sown any time in the spring after 

 danger from frost is past ; as it is slow to germinate, 

 watering may be found necessary. It should be sown 

 as early as convenient, so as to have as large a leaf 

 system as possible for the summer's heat. As the 



