632 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Culture. — The seed is sown in the open ground early in Ma.y, 

 either broadcast or in drills from 8 to lO in. apart. As it is 

 extremely small, it is a good plan to mix it with a little fine soil 

 or sand, in order to avoid sowing too thick. The first waterings 

 should be given carefully, so as not to wash away the seed, which 

 should not be deeply buried, but merely pressed firmly into the 

 soil. If the seedlings come up too thick, they should be thinned 

 out, and they should be frequently watered in hot weather. As 

 plants sown early in the season are apt to run to seed, it is advisable 

 to make a fresh sowing in June, using the same precautions. The 

 roots may commence to be gathered for use in October or Novemberv 

 and they will continue to yield a supply through the winter ; and 

 in order that this may not be interrupted by severe frosty weather, 

 a sufficient quantity of the roots should be taken up beforehand 

 and stored in sand in a cellar or vegetable-house. 



Uses. — The roots and leaves are eaten raw as salad. 



RHUBARB 



Rheum, L. PolygonacecB. 



French^ Rhubarbe. German, Rhabarber. Flemish and Dutch, Rabarber. Danish ^ 

 Rhabarber. Italian, Rabarbaro. Spanish and Portuguese, Ruibarbo. 



The cultivated varieties of Rhubarb are generally referred 



by botanists to Rheum 

 hybridum. Ait, a native of 

 Mongolia. These varieties, 

 however, are far from 

 exhibiting any constant 

 characteristics, and it is 

 not impossible that some 

 of them may have sprung,, 

 either directly or as the 

 result of crossing, from the 

 Rheum undulatum of North 

 America, or even from other 

 species. 



The plant, as it is grown 

 in gardens, is remarkable 

 for its very large heart- 

 shaped radical leaves, which 

 measure over 2\ ft. in length 

 and 2 ft. or more in breadth, 

 and are borne on stalks 

 which are rounded under- 



Rhubarb {Rheum hybridum) (t^V natural size). 



neath and flat or channelled on the upper surface, about 2 in. 

 in diameter, and from i ft. to i6 in. in length — dimensions which 



