NOVEMBER: FOURTH WEEK 313 



sharp spade cut round and under some of the largest and 

 oldest crowns. Good balls of earth should be secured with 

 the roots, which should be taken out intact if possible. 

 It is not necessary to take them up now; if they are simply 

 loosened and left in the hole they will freeze soUd, to be 

 removed later, a few at a time, if a good supply is available. 



This plan will not only give you fresh rhubarb for winter, 

 but your bed will be benefited, for you will have room to 

 take up and divide the remaining roots. If you have no 

 outdoor bed from which to take roots a few may be bought 

 at a reasonable price from some neighboring market 

 gardener, or from your seedsman. But before forcing let 

 them freeze. 



Place a few roots in a tight, shallow box, pack moss, 

 chip-dirt or coal ashes about them to help hold the moisture, 

 water thoroughly, and place them where they will have a 

 moderate degree of heat. In cutting the first shoots of 

 asparagus be careful not to cut through the other buds that 

 are just starting. 



If you have grown a supply of Witloof, or French salad 

 chicory, take up the strongest roots, trim them back to a 

 convenient size, and plant them in a box of sand or sandy 

 soil, covering them well. With warmth and plenty of mois- 

 ture in a dark place, the new growth of leaves sent out will 

 be tenderly blanched and will make a deHcious salad at 

 the season of the year when fresh salads are scarce. Or 

 the roots may be placed, upright, in a frame, covered with 

 soil, and a layer of warm manure put over this, to stimulate 

 growth. 



Drain Now to Save Time in Spring 



After all the other fall work is cleaned up there is usually 

 a chance before hard freezing to do a lot of work that will 

 save time next spring. For some time past both spring 

 and fall in the East have averaged later than in former 

 years. In several recent seasons we have been able to plow 

 almost up to Christmastime, but our spring operations have 

 been delayed from one to three weeks. 



