KITCHEN-GARDEN VEGETABLES. 
after this no further care is necessary than to 
water frequently, and to keep the ground free 
of weeds. Small sowings may be made in the 
FH 
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Fig. 1272.—Rampion (Campunuia Rapunculus). 
end of June and July, in case the plants from 
the May sowing should run. 
The roots will be fit for use from November 
till April or May, and they may either be pulled 
up as wanted or taken up in bulk and stored in 
sand. The plants send up flower-stalks about 
2 feet high, which bear small blue or white 
flowers in July and August. The seeds ripen 
in autumn. 
Rhubarb (fhewm).—The genus Rheum con- 
sists of about twenty species of stout, large- 
leaved herbs with woody large roots. They are 
all natives of Central Asia and the Himalaya. 
The varieties of Rhubarb grown for culinary 
purposes in Great Britain and North America 
are said to have sprung from f&. Lhaponticum 
and f. undulatum, both natives of Siberia and 
grown in this country since 1573. The use of 
the leaf-stalks for making tarts, &c., is of com- 
paratively recent date, and is as yet scarcely 
practised on the Continent. They are much 
appreciated by Britishers, however, both on 
account of their flavour, and also as wholesome 
food. They form an excellent substitute for 
fruit in tarts and pies. They also make a deli- 
cious preserve, and a wine is obtained from them. 
Rhubarb succeeds best in a rich deep soil, | 
rather light than otherwise, and well exposed 
to, hight. 
spring, but the mode of propagation generally 
adopted is by dividing the roots, a bud, of 
which there are several on the crown, being 
preserved to each piece. 
It may be raised from seeds sown in 
507 
The ground having been deeply trenched, and 
well manured with rotten dung, the divisions of 
the roots may be planted with the bud about 
2 inches below the surface, 3 feet apart, in rows 
from 3 to 4 feet asunder, according to the variety 
planted and the quantity of ground at disposal. 
The plantation should be made as early in spring 
as the weather and state of the ground will 
permit. 
No leaves should be removed the first year, 
but in the following spring an ample supply 
may be obtained. In gathering for use the 
leaf-stalks should be bent down, and_ pulled, 
not cut off. The flower-stems, if seeds are not 
required, should be cut off soon after they make 
their appearance. In other respects the culture 
in this, and every succeeding year, is the same 
as before. Some well-decomposed dung may, 
however, be dug in when the ground is stirred. 
Plantations will continue in good production 
for several years, but it is advisable to make a 
new one every fourth or fifth year, otherwise 
the produce is inferior in size and quality to that 
obtained from ground more recently planted. 
Some sorts of Rhubarb will, however, continue 
in good bearing for twelve years or more, if 
supplied with manure. 
Forcing.—Rhubarb is forced in the open 
ground, or in pits, cellars, or other structures, 
where a sufficient degree of heat is maintained. 
In the open ground forcing is frequently effected 
by covering the roots with Rhubarb Pots (fig. 
1273), boxes, or flower-pots, which are afterwards 
surrounded with hot dung or 
a mixture of litter, stable- 
dung, and leaves. Another 
mode which is pursued by 
the market-gardeners near 
London consists in digging 
long pits, to the depth of 
2 or 3 feet, introducing 18 
inches of hot dung, and then 
packing the roots closely 
together in fine soil, covering 
the crowns with hoops, or 
with 6 inches of straw, then 
hurdles or mats, and finishing with 6 or 8 inches 
of straw, the amount of the latter depending 
on the severity of the weather. In this way, 
provided the weather is dry, stout, tender, 
bright-red stalks are produced, and the leaf- 
blade is always small. 
These methods are, however, attended with 
considerable trouble and expense, and give 
the ground a littery and unsightly appearance; 
Fig. 1273.—Rhubarb Pot. 
| moreover, the quality of the produce is frequently 
