ASPARAGUS. RHUBARB. HORSERADISH Jl 



Spring; or in the fall, well mulched. An acre set 

 3x4 feet, requires 3,630 roots. No stalks should be 

 pulled the first summer ; a light crop the second 

 season ; a full crop the third. 



Cultivation begins in the early spring and con- 

 tinues until fall, when a heavy coat of manure should 

 be applied. Seed-stalks should be cut off whenever 

 seen, so as to throw all the force of the plants into 

 themselves. A plantation is good for about twenty 

 years, but after a few years the roots develop into 

 big "clumps" that need to be severely trimmed with 

 a spade. Don't be afraid ; cut straight down, all 

 around; many of the trimmings can be used for new 

 plantations or sold to neighbors. Each strong "eye," 

 with roots attached, will, if removed and set in good 

 soil, make a new plant ; in fact, this is the common 

 method of propagation (Plants may be grown from 

 seed, planted the same as asparagus, but this requires 

 the loss of a year's time.) 



Marketing rhubarb : Methods, markets and ship- 

 ping-packages vary in different localities. Some Illi- 

 nois growers begin pulling rhubarb as soon as the 

 stalks are six or eight inches long, and ship in third- 

 bushel climax baskets ; they claim to get more out 

 of it in this way. It is a question whether in the 

 long run this is better 

 than to let the stalks 

 get full length before 

 beginning to pull. 

 Later on, the large, 

 fifty-pound crate is 

 often used. What- 

 ever plan is adopted, 

 it is well to bear in mind that it does not pay to 

 fill the packages with small stringy stalks, and top 



A LONG, LOW, WELL-BANKED SHED 

 FOR FORCING RHUBARB IN WINTER 



