202 VEGETABLE FORCING 
Forced rhubarb for market is usually tied with red tape. 
Some growers prefer white tape. A common practice is 
to tie a dozen bunches into one bundle and then sell by 
the dozen. Oiled paper can be used to advantage in 
wrapping the bundles or even the individual bunches. 
Yields and returns are extremely variable. The small 
patch 2 feet square (shown in Fig. 63), grown in coal 
ashes, was planted January 9. The cellar was a little 
cool for rapid growth. 
The bed of 4 square feet produced as follows: 
February 24 33 ounces 
March 1 ~ 42 ounces 
March 4 39 ounces 
March 9 129 ounces 
March 25 .. 50 ounces 
This makes a total of about 18 pounds, or 4% pounds 
to the square foot. The six stalks shown in Fig. 62 
weighed 22 ounces. Their height ranged from 15 to 18 
inches, and the largest were an inch in diameter. This 
bed was located about 4 feet from a hot water furnace. 
The Market Growers’ Journal reports the following 
weights and measures relating to 10 selected stalks grown 
by Lazenby from one-year roots at the Ohio State 
University : 
Inches 
Average length of stem 17.3 
Average length of leaf blade ----------------- 44 
Total length of leaf 21.7 
Average length of leaf blade __.--_.--.--_---- 3.0 
Average weight of whole stalk __-.---_____--_ 4.6 
The crop sold from one lot of roots in an 8 by 10 foot 
bed in the cellar brought $10. Two crops from seedling 
roots grown on 185 square feet of space sold for $35. 
In “The New Rhubarb Culture,” Morse reports $144 
as the winter returns from a cellar 36 by 54 feet in size, 
heated by two large lamps. 
