RHUBARB 199 



that before the beginning of the cutting season a ridge of soil is 

 thrown up over each row, and the shoots are cut or broken off 

 several inches below the surface as soon as their tips appear at 

 the top of the ridge. Being produced in the dark the shoots are 

 free from green coloring matter, and are much in demand in cer- 

 tain markets. After the close of the cutting season, the ridges 

 are plowed down, and the field kept level till the following spring. 



KHUBARB 



Rhubarb, or pie plant, is another important perennial vege- 

 table. It produces enormous leaves, and the fleshy leaf stalks 

 are the edible parts. New leaves appear from early spring till 

 midsummer, but the stalks produced early in the season are most 

 in demand, and the harvest usually does not last more than six 

 or eight weeks. The later leaves are allowed to grow and supply 

 the root with food materials for producing the next season's crop. 

 The roots are perfectly hardy, requiring no winter protection, 

 and the plant is capable of surviving the extreme heat of summer 

 in central latitudes. 



Propagation. — Rhubarb is usually propagated by the division 

 of old roots. In dividing the roots care must be taken to see that 

 each piece of root to be planted contains a portion of the crown 

 bearing a bud. New plantations may also be started by the use 

 of one-year-old roots grown from seed. The latter method requires 

 a year longer, but is very much cheaper unless the grower has an 

 old plantation from which he can procure the old roots for dividing, 

 for when rhubarb roots are purchased they are very expensive. 

 Were it not for the high cost of the roots, it is probable that many 

 more home gardeners would plant rhubarb. This difficulty can be 

 overcome by growing the roots from seed, and even though many 

 of the seedlings are untrue to type, selections may be made and 

 a very satisfactory rhubarb plantation established at small expense 

 (Fig. 123). 



For growing rhubarb plants from seed, the seed is sown in 

 rich, moist soil, early in the spring, in drills about eighteen inches 

 apart. The plants are thinned to six or eight inches apart in 

 the row, and given good tillage throughout the season. 



Planting.— Whether yearling roots or divisions of old roots are 

 used for starting a rhubarb plantation, the plants are usually set 

 early in the spring, though fall planting is sometimes practiced. 

 The rows should be at least four feet apart and the plants three 



