SALSIFY OR OTSTEE PLANT. 251 



sliould be spread on the surface of the ground around the plants. 

 When new varieties are wanted they may he obtained by sowing 

 seed. Seme of the plants will be good, which may be selected 

 and planted out, and the remaiader thrown away. It will require 

 three years to raise plants from seed that will give stalks fit for 

 use, while those from divisions of the roots, leaving an eye or 

 bud upon each piece, will yield stalks fit for use in one year. 



It is a perfectly hardy plant, but will start earlier ia spring if 

 covered in the fall with a little coarse litter to keep out the 

 intense frost; and as a great part of the comfort, and to those 

 who cultivate for market, the profit, of growing the Ehubarb, is 

 to have the stalks for use as early as possible, a little labor 

 bestowed in the fall in protecting it from severe frosts is amply 

 repaid. Where the snow faUs before the ground freezes and 

 remains all winter, keeping the frost out entirely, or nearly so, 

 such fall covering wiU not be needed. A plantation once formed 

 and properly cared for will last for fifteen years. 



The best varieties are the following : 



Myatt's LiNNiEus. — Is early, very productive, has a fine 

 spicy flavor and is moderately acid. 



Myatt's" Viotobia. — Of large size, and is the variety chiefly 

 depended upon by market gardeners for the main crop. Not so 

 early as Linnaeus, but larger and yielding a much greater weight 

 per acre. 



SALSIFY OR OTSTEE PLANT. 



The Vegetable Oyster is a perfectly hardy plant, enduring 

 our winters without protection as perfectly as the Parsnip. 

 When cooked, the flavor much resembles that of the Oyster, and 

 it is very much relished by nearly every one. It is coming rapidly 

 into more general use, and in some places largely cultivated for 

 market, finding a ready sale. 



A light mellow soil, such as that in which Carrots are grown, 

 suits it best, and it should be pulverized and enriched in pre- 

 18 



