RHUBARB (DAW'S CHAMPION) 



773 



it Is found that the sprouts are slow to extend, then all light should 

 be excluded. 



RHUBARB (DAW'S CHAMPION) 



An early Rhubarb is most useful when forced or when allowed 

 to come away naturally. Of the newer varieties that at the head 

 of this note is of great value, indeed by some it is preferred to the 

 well-known Hawke's Champagne, an old kind, well known for its 

 fine colour, earliness, and quality when obtained true. It is 

 largely grown by one of the Covent Garden Market men, who has 

 shown it frequently at the winter meetings of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society, receiving both an award of merit for it for its 

 earliness and a first-class certificate for it for its excellent quality. 

 Of the several varieties of Rhubarb that have been put into 

 commerce of recent years it is one of the best. Even so early as 

 January we have seen the crowns growing freely with only a 

 handful or two of loose litter thrown over them. For forcing it is 

 unequalled, the bright red colour permeating the whole stalk. 

 It is a very strong grower, quite different in this respect from some 

 of our very early varieties of former days. 



ROTATION OF CROPS 



This is one of the most important points in the culture of 

 vegetables. So much, however, depends on the nature of the soil, 

 the size of the garden, and the different vegetables required that 

 no hard-and-fast rule can be laid down in this matter. A change 

 of ground is beneficial to most vegetables, though there are many 

 I exceptions, as in the case of Onions, Shallots, and Artichokes, which 



I may be grown from year to year on the same piece of ground. 

 The treatment for Celery brings the ground into a high state of 



: cultivation, and most vegetables do well after Celery. Carrots, 



! Parsnips, and Beet should follow crops for which the soil was 



ij specially manured, as the application of fresh manure just before 



j sowing is detrimental to them. All the Cabbage family should 



II never be allowed to succeed each other, but should generally 



! follow after tap-rooted vegetables. The soil for tap-rooted vege- 

 j' tables should be thoroughly well worked without the addition of 

 ; any manure. 



TOMATOES 



ij Defoliating" Tomatoes. — Many amateurs run away with the 

 \ idea that Tomatoes when exposed by the removal of the leaves 

 \ ripen more quickly. This is an erroneous idea, and the sooner it 



is dispelled the better — that is, by those who treat the plants in 

 ! such a barbarous fashion. One may often see the plants quite 



denuded of all the leaves, only a small particle of a leaf-stem 



