LEADING VEGETABLE CROPS 217 



tion with the home garden, on account of the ease 

 with which it may be grown and the high value 

 placed on the succulent, highly acid leaf stalks as 

 a source of pie material. It is also in great demand 

 in the form of sauces and stews in the very early 

 spring after the heavier and more restricted diet of 

 the winter months. It is naturally a northern crop, 

 not particularly well suited to truck farming pur- 

 poses, and not adapted to long-distance shipments. 

 The possibilities of rhubarb as a forcing plant have 

 only been appreciated within the last lo or 12 

 years, but at the present time most large gardeners 

 devote some time to the growing of this crop out of 

 season. The plant is also forced to a considerable 

 extent under home conditions and can be made to 

 give a continuous supply from early January until 

 the outdoor crop comes on. The value of the crop 

 depends very largely upon its extreme hardiness and 

 earliness. The thick roots store up a large amount 

 of food during the growing season, which causes the 

 plant to respond quickly to the first stimulus of 

 spring. 



The plant is a gross feeder and does best upon 

 the deep, sandy loams, well supplied with large 

 quantities of decaying organic matter. It responds 

 readily to heavy applications of nitrate made at 

 frequent intervals in the early springtime and an 

 extra application given at the time harvesting ceases. 



Plants are readily propagated from seed sown in 

 the open. This is generally the most satisfactory 

 method, taking everything into consideration. The 

 varietal characteristics of rhubarb are not well es- 

 tablished and a large percentage of the seedlings do 

 not come true to type. Division of the crown is fre- 

 quently employed for propagating purposes on this 



