THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 157 
earliness, productiveness, or some otlier desirable quality. In 
the month of July the seed may be obtained in plenty where 
the plants have been allowed to flower, and it should be 
gathered as early as possible, to insure ripeness, for if it is 
scattered about amongst the plants many seedlings will come 
up and injure. the plantation. Cut off the whole of the seed- 
bearing stems close down to the heart of the plant, and lay them 
on cloths in a sunny greenhouse or wherever else they may be 
ripened in the full sun without risk of being blown away by 
the wind. As soon as it falls freely from the stalks it must 
be sown in drills two feet apart and an inch and a half deep. 
The ground must be kept clear of weeds, and in spring the 
rhubarb plants will appear in plenty, varying greatly in size 
and shape of leaf. 
If you have practised cross breeding with a view to obtain 
plants of a particular style and quality, it will be well to let 
the whole remain until they become crowded in the rows, and 
then carefully transplant them in showery weather into rows 
three feet apart, putting the plants two feet apart in the row. 
The soil should be rich, deep, and moist, but not cold, and a 
sheltered spot should be selected to give the most precious of 
the seedlings a fair chance for an early start in spring. 
If the object of seed sowing is simply to obtain stock for 
market, or to fill a plantation, thin the seed bed to six inches 
asunder, taking care to remove the weakest plants, and espe- 
cially those that appear to differ from the type required. In 
the spring look over the plantation two or three times, and 
carefully lift every plant that pushes early and promises to be 
suitable for forcing. Plant these on rich, deep soil, with 
plenty of manure, putting them at least two feet apart in 
rows a yard asunder. Let them grow for a year, and then 
force them. Those that remain should be carefully rogued 
to remove unpromising plants and give more room to the 
best. 
A Permanent Plantation of Named Sorts will be more 
useful in a small garden than seedlings, because a few plants 
of the very finest quality can be secured for a trifle, and may 
be multiplied to any extent required by the simple process of 
cutting up the roots. The soil best adapted for rhubarb cul- 
ture is a deep, rich, moist loam, but the plant will thrive 
more or less, and at least usefully, on almost any kind of soil, 
but good living and plenty of moisture it will always appre- 
