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RHUBARB 



635 



ficially heated structures ; or No. 2, 

 by covering the crowns where they 

 are grown with pots or boxes, and 

 applying fermenting material, com- 

 posed of stable litter, leaves, etc., 

 or, in fact, anything that will 

 generate warmth enough to excite 

 growth. There is much to be said 

 in favour of both systems, for they 

 are both good under certain con- 

 ditions, and gardeners in private 

 gardens, as a rule, find lifting the 

 roots and placing them in heat the 

 best plan for the earliest crops 

 during December and January ; for 

 where heated glass structures are in 

 use, a supply of Rhubarb may be 

 procured without any additional 

 outlay, or even occupying any space 

 useful for any other purpose, as 

 under stages, or in the boiler-shed, 

 or, in fact, any position near the 

 hot pipes. The roots may be placed 

 on the floor, or in pots or boxes, 

 and covered with soil, keeping it 

 moist, and the crowns may be 

 covered with hay, fern fronds, or 

 litter, to blanch it. The only objec- 

 tion to this plan is that it weakens 

 the crowns more than by forcing 

 them in the ground, as the roots 

 get very much mutilated in removal, 

 so that if the quantity of Rhubarb 

 roots is limited, it is preferable to 

 adopt the plan of forcing the roots 

 where they are grown. Procure 

 the requisite number of pots with 

 movable covers, and place them 

 over the crowns ; then cover them 

 over with fresh stable litter, or a 

 coating of leaves and litter mixed 

 together. The leaves of deciduous 

 trees are most useful for many pur- 

 poses, as they can be used for 

 forwarding crops of Rhubarb and 

 then placed in pits or frames 

 for supplying bottom heat for 

 Cucumbers and other early crops. 

 To have Rhubarb fit for use at 

 Christmas, cover the crowns in the 



middle of November, and as soon 

 as the first batch gets fairly started 

 into growth, cover a few more pots 

 in succession, until it comes on 

 naturally in March, when any large 

 tubs or boxes turned over the 

 crowns to shelter from cold winds 

 will forward the growth at least a 

 fortnight before the crowns left un- 

 covered. Rhubarb, unlike many 

 other crops, is better when forced 

 than from the open air, being more 

 tender and succulent. 



Market-Garden Culture. — 

 Rhubarb forcing in market-gardens 

 is very simple, and is done in hot- 

 beds covered with hoops and mats. 

 In making young plantations, the 

 sets are sometimes planted about 

 18 in. apart each way: and, at 

 forcing time, every other row, and 

 the alternate plants in the row left, 

 are lifted for forcing ; old planta- 

 tions, too, are cleared entirely for 

 forcing. The leaves will be decayed 

 enough to be raked off by the 

 middle of October, by which time 

 the first portion is usually lifted for 

 forcing. For this purpose trenches 

 are cast out, about 4 ft. wide and 

 2 ft. deep, and filled with fermenting 

 manure. Over this a thin layer of 

 common soil is placed, and in it the 

 crowns, after being trimmed of some 

 of their rougher roots, are planted. 

 Over the crowns some loose litter 

 is strewed, and then the beds are 

 hooped over and covered with mats, 

 over which another layer of straw 

 or litter is placed during winter. 

 In the outside covering, apertures 

 are made at gathering time, and 

 closed again when done. In 

 February, if the weather be mild, 

 the hoops and mats are commonly 

 dispensed with. In some gardens 

 excellent Rhubarb is produced in 

 pits, with some heating material 

 underneath, and some loose straw 

 merely shaken loosely over the 



