306 SCHOOL AND HOME GARDENS 
Planting. Loosen up the soil with a spading fork toa 
depth of two feet, preparing a space two feet in diameter. 
The earth should be at least one third well-rotted ma- 
nure. Set the plants so that the buds will be two or 
three inches below the surface, three feet apart. Give 
each plant two gallons or more of water, so that the 
fine soil will come immediately into close contact with 
the roots. 
Culture. Cultivate during the entire summer, to retain 
the moisture. Onions or some surface-feeding crop may 
be set out near the plants, to pay for the labor of culti- 
vating during the first year. 
Mulching. In the fall, cover the plants with a heavy 
mulch of coarse manure, to prevent deep freezing. They 
will live through the winter without the mulch, but will 
yield stalks much earlier the next spring if it is applied. 
Rake off the coarse material early in the season and fork 
the fine material into the soil for humus and fertilization. 
Forcing. Force the plants by placing over them a 
bottomless box or barrel. Pile a heavy coating of fresh 
manure around it. 
Rhubarb may be forced in a cool cellar. Let the roots 
freeze thoroughly for a month or more; then take them 
up and pack them in rich earth in the cellar. Cover the 
plants three inches deep and keep them moist. When the 
shoots appear, water more freely. 
If the roots used for forcing in a cellar are set in the 
garden and given the usual attention, they will regain 
strength for a crop in two years. 
