CHAPTER XI. 



MISCELLANEOUS VEGETABLES. 



§ 1 . — -EHUBAEB. 



Natural history. — Ehubarb {Rheum Linn.) 

 belongs to the natural order Polygonese, class 

 Ennandria and order Trigynia in the Linnsean 

 arrangement. There are fourteen species of 

 rhubarb, all of which are cultivated either for 

 culinary or medicinal purposes ; none of them 

 are indigenous to Britain. Rheum raponticum, 

 a native of Asia, was the earliest introduced 

 species, its date of introduction being 1573. The 

 generic name Rheum is derived from Rha, the 

 Wolga, from its being first brought from the 

 banks of that river. It was well known to the an- 

 cient Greeks, who called it Ehabarbarum, from its 

 being brought from the above river. The use 

 of its roots for medical purposes is of the great- 

 est antiquity, and we have authentic accounts 

 of its being so used prior to the birth of Christ, 

 as Dioscorides, who was physician to Antony 

 and Cleopatra, wrote on its qualities, and re- 

 commended it for use. Paulus yEgineta, who is 

 said to have been the first who practised as an 

 accoucheur, was also the first to use rhubarb as 

 an opening medicine. The root has long been 

 an important article of commerce, and was for- 

 merly brought from China, by Tartary,to Aleppo, 

 Damascus, and Alexandria, and from thence it 

 was sent to Vienna, and long maintained the 

 distinction of Levant and Turkey rhubarb. In 

 the time of Gerard, the leaves were used as a 

 pot-herb, and considered superior to spinach or 

 beet. The London Society of Arts, in 1792 and 

 1793, awarded a gold medal to Sir W. Fordice 

 and Mr Jones for rearing rhubarb from seed ; 

 and in 1794 a like reward was adjudged to Mr 

 Hayward for propagating it by offsets instead of 

 seeds, for the purpose of bringing it to perfec- 

 tion in a shorter time. 



Use. — The leaf-stalks of rhubarb have been long 

 used in many parts of England in tarts and pies ; 

 in the manner of apples, they are also stewed 

 alone or with rice, made into jellies and other 

 preserves ; and when fully grown, the expressed 

 juice is made into an excellent wine. As an 

 article of commercial importance in the London 

 vegetable markets, it is of very recent date. 

 About 1810 Mr Joseph Myatt of Deptford, long 

 known for his successful culture of this plant, 

 sent his two sons to the borough market with 

 five bunches of rhubarb stalks, of which they 



could only sell three. The same cultivator now 

 sends a waggon-load or two twice a-week to the 

 London markets, besides many other growers, 

 who supply the metropolitan markets with 

 many tons of stalks weekly during the season. 



Propagation, &c. — All the varieties of rhubarb 

 are reared from seed, which is the best way, but 

 very generally they are increased by dividing 

 the roots, retaining a bud or crown to each sec- 

 tion. Whether originated from seed or in- 

 creased by division, a deep rich soil is required 

 to insure the full development of the foot-stalks, 

 for upon their size, rapidity of growth, and con- 

 sequently tenderness of fibre, much of their 

 merit depends. The soil should be rich and 

 mellow, but not damp, and should be trenched 

 not less than 3 feet in depth. The seed should 

 be sown in March, in drills a foot asunder, thin- 

 ning the plants out, when a few inches high, 

 to 9 inches apart. In autumn following they 

 will be fit for transplanting in rows 3 feet asun- 

 der, and the plants set 3 feet apart. The same 

 distance should be given to sets when propaga- 

 tion is effected by division of the roots. As, 

 however, some of the sorts grow larger than 

 others, a corresponding distance should be ac- 

 corded them, extending to 5 feet between the 

 rows, and 3 feet plant from plant. When ma- 

 nure is applied, it should be buried not less than 

 from 2 to 3 feet, that the extremities of the 

 roots may derive benefit therefrom. The plants 

 should be set out singly, and not in threes, as 

 is so often done. For the first year the ground 

 between the rows may be cropped with lettuce, 

 turnips, or similar low-growing crops ; but after 

 the second year the leaves will cover the whole 

 space, and require it also for their full develop- 

 ment. From the depth to which the roots ex- 

 tend, subsequent manurings will have little 

 effect upon them ; therefore, in preparing the 

 ground for a new plantation, it should be en- 

 riched to the depth recommended above ; and if 

 a liberal supply of broken bones be incorporated 

 with the manure, so much the better, as they 

 consume slowly. 



The after culture consists in keeping the 

 ground clear of weeds, breaking over the flower- 

 stalks as they appear, that their formation and 

 seed-producing may not draw unnecessary sup- 

 plies from the roots. 



Gathering the crop. — During the second year 



