G.}C> THL PRACTICAL (iAKDKNER. [Ju/f. 



frame will produce enough of all of these herbs for any ordi- 

 nary family. When the crop is all gathered, or no longer 

 wanted, the roots of the mint and tansey should be gathered 

 up and thrown away, as by mixing with tiie mould or dung they 

 would Ixjcome troublesome weeds if dug into the ground ; and 

 as they are so easily procured, their loss will be of no con- 

 sequence. 



Mint may also be potted in lai'ge pots, and placed in any 

 of the hot-houses at work, and four or six large pots will pro- 

 vide a supply for an ordinary family. 



FORCING RHUBARB. 



Rhubarb is found to be much improved in flavor by being 

 blanched, as well as effecting a saving of sugar, in rendering 

 it agreeable to the palate when dressed. In blanching rhu- 

 barb, the plant is more or less accelerated in its growth, and 

 therefore may come under the denomination of being a forced 

 vegetable. However, before the idea of blanching it occurred, 

 or at least before it was put in practice, it had been forced in 

 a variety of ways for many years. The agreeable acidity of 

 the foot-stalks of the leaves, which are the parts used, toge- 

 ther with their nearly approaching in flavor to gooseberries 

 while in an unripe state, renders rhubarb an article of garden 

 produce in much demand, at seasons when the other cannot be 

 got, unless in a preserved state. Probably the medicinal pro- 

 perties of rhubarb may be beneficial to many constitutions, 

 and may be admitted into the very small catalogue of pleasant 

 medicines ; but, without deciding that question, there are few 

 tables at which rhubarb does not appear, in shape of tarts, 

 during its season, which, in the open ground, is of short dura- 

 tion, in consequence of the extreme rapidity of its growth. 

 To obviate this, and similar cases, has long been the anxious 

 endeavour of the gardener ; in few has he succeeded so com- 

 pletely as with the plant before us, and with so little trouble. 

 According to the doctrine of Knight, rhubarb, like most othci- 

 perennial herbaceous plants, contains within itself, during win- 

 ter, all the organizable matter, which it expands in the forma- 

 tion of its flower-stalks and leaves, and requires neither food 



