60 



VEGETABLE GROWING. 



aloug, and the armsful are placed on this and hauled 

 to the bunching shed. The blades 

 are then cut off and the stalks tied 

 into bunches (see Fig. 4). Some of 

 the varieties are so brittle that it 

 is necessary to let them wilt a short 

 time before tying. The size of the 

 bunch must be such as will suit the 

 market, and this can be learned 

 only by experience. 



This vegetable is shipped in ven- 

 tilated crates or barrels, and as the 

 product is removed from the pack- 

 age before the consumer buys it, 

 there is very little choice in the 

 kind of package. Forced rhubarb 

 is usually tied up in bunches con- 

 taining six large stalks, which sell 

 for a dollar a bunch ; as soon as the 

 outdoor article comes into market 

 the price declines rapidly. Be- 



sides being used as a vegetable, it is employed in 



making wine ; for this purpose it has sold for $15.00 



a ton. 



FORCING. 



The lucrative price paid for fresh rhubarb in the 

 winter has induced many nurserymen to force this 

 vegetable. In the fall, after the frost has fallen, the 

 roots are taken up with as little mutillation as possible 

 and transferred to a hot-bed or greenhouse. If the 

 sale is to be made in early winter the heat is applied 

 at once, but if for later winter market the roots are 

 kept in a dormant state until the proper time has 

 arrived. 



The Gulf region will not have to use heat to have 

 early rhubarb. If it is profitable and desirable to force 

 it, the product will stand the cost of transportation. 



FlG 



Figure 4 represents 

 ready S fo?crating: b This 

 Ski cutlffSe projjl 



