March 3. 
186 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
SOME GARDEN QUESTIONS 
ANSWERED. 
Big Undertaking With Asparagus and Rhubarb. 
C. IF. II., Greensville, Ind .—I am thinking 
of preparing to set out two acres of aspar¬ 
agus and one acre of rhubarb in the Spring of 
1907. If I concluded to do so, I shall grow 
the roots myself. I have a combined I’lanet, 
Jr., drill and wheel hoe and can see no trou¬ 
ble ahead growing the roots. My experience 
with these vegetables is limited to garden cul¬ 
ture. I have grown strawberries for market 
successfully for 10 years. My idea is to con¬ 
fine my money crops to asparagus, rhubarb, 
strawberries and raspberries. This arrange¬ 
ment will start my busy season early in 
April and wihd up in early July. Then my 
rush will be over and I can clean up, culti¬ 
vate and put patches in shape for next crop. 
With my limited experience shall I be under¬ 
taking too much? What errors or mistakes 
am I liable to make through lack of experi¬ 
ence? What is the gross income, generally, 
from one acre of rhubarb? How many stalks 
will an average hill of rhubarb make in one 
season? What varieties of asparagus and 
rhubarb would you suggest growing? It 
seems to me rhubarb set 3x5 would be better 
than 4x4 to facilitate manuring. 
Ans. —I am inclined to think that one 
acre of rhubarb, well cultivated, will call 
for a great deal of work; it is very bulky 
stuff to handle, and unless there is a ready 
market for the product of an acre I would 
advise the inquirer to begin with half the 
quantity, for a small local market can be 
more than supplied from one acre. In my 
judgment it would be a mistake to begin 
growing rhubarb from seed, for it seldom 
comes true when grown in this way. It 
should be increased by dividing the roots. 
The gross income from one acre of rhu¬ 
barb will depend somewhat on the market 
and the method of culture; from $150 to 
$200 will be a safe estimate. 
The number of stalks depends on the 
age of the bed. The second and third 
year the stalks will be large and fine, but 
in each succeeding year the stalks will 
increase in quantity and diminish in size, 
requiring two or more extra stalks for a 
bunch. 
The best varieties of asparagus are 
Palmetto and Giant Argenteuil; of rhu¬ 
barb, Linnaeus, stalk green and early; 
Victoria, stalks red and broad. Three by 
five feet is the proper distance to plant 
rhubarb; divide the crowns every fourth 
or fifth year and plant new beds. 
Egyptian Onion in Spring. 
C. D. O’B., New York .—I have some Egyp¬ 
tian onion sets that I was unahle to plant 
last Fall. Is It too late to do so, and would 
it be better to do it now or wait till Spring? 
Ans. —Egyptian onion sets are usually 
planted in the Fall; the tops can be used 
all Winter for soup, etc., and the small 
bulbs bunched in Spring for market. This 
onion is entirely hardy, and once planted 
can be had from the garden almost the 
entire year. It can also be planted in 
Spring as soon as the ground can be 
worked but it will be of little value for 
market or home use, coming in at a time 
when other and better onions are plenti¬ 
ful. 
Blanching Celery in Tile. 
8. L. C.. Clear Lake, Iowa .—Is it a suc¬ 
cess growing celery in drain tile? Will It 
freeze quicker blanched with boards or tile? 
Ans. —Growing and blanching celery 
with drain tile is not a success. The labor 
and expense connected with this method 
of culture would alone prevent the gen¬ 
eral use of them. We have a quantity 
of tile especially molded for blanching 
celery and they are very unsatisfactory. 
The sup in hot weather heats them to 
some extent, and during damp and rainy 
spells they retain much moisture; the 
young and tender growth of the plants, 
being continually exposed to these ex¬ 
tremes, is often damaged to a great ex¬ 
tent. Blanching by means of boards is 
the only reliable way of growing early 
celery in this locality. The stalks are 
drawn together at the base of the plant 
and earthed up but little; boards 10 inches 
wide are set on either side of the row, 
slanted enough to shed the water, and at 
each end and in the center they are tied 
with strings such as that used for tying 
cornstalks. The same boards can be used 
until freezing weather, when the celery 
should be trenched and protected for 
Winter use. 
Onion Culture: Large Bulbs. 
J. P., Westfield, N. V'.—Is it true that the 
trade does not want large onions, but prefers 
medium size? Is the Prizetaker one that is 
sought in the markets, and will it yield as 
largely as some of the seedsmen state, 1,200 
or more bushels to acre under the most fa¬ 
vorable conditions? Has it more to recom¬ 
mend it than other sorts? Is it more liable 
to disease than other sorts? Why is Con¬ 
necticut White quoted so much higher in the 
markets than other sorts? Do they yield less 
and are they more hard to grow? For a two 
or three-acre plot what kind would you grow? 
Stable manure being impossible to get, what 
is next best, and how much would you use 
to the acre, on land in good fertile condition? 
Do large growers have a machine for taking 
off the tops, or do they do it all by hand, 
and do they have any special machine or tool 
for digging? 
Ans. —I am inclined to think if it were 
true that the trade does not want large 
onions, it would perhaps be somewhat of 
an advantage to many of the onion grow¬ 
ers. By growing onions as large as we 
can, there will always be enough of the 
medium size or small ones to meet this 
demand. The Prizetaker is a very valu¬ 
able onion. In localities where the soil 
and climate are not well adapted to grow¬ 
ing onions from seed planted in the open 
ground, this variety can be relied upon to 
produce large crops, by sowing the seed 
early in March in the cold frame and 
transplanting to the open ground in May. 
The Prizetaker onion when grown in this 
way will produce onions of the largest 
size, and the yield is sometimes enormous, 
but seldom as much as 1,200 bushels to the 
acre. It is not more liable to disease than 
other varieties. Onions that are grown 
in Connecticut soil are usually of good 
quality, and the white varieties are ex¬ 
ceedingly fine. It is their general appear¬ 
ance and fine quality rather than the var¬ 
iety that gives them this distinction and 
high quotations. The most reliable, 
onions to grow for market are the Globe 
varieties, either the White, Red or Yellow. 
Eight hundred or a thousand pounds of 
good commercial fertilizer to the acre 
sown broadcast and worked into the soil 
usually give good returns. I have never 
heard of a machine or any device for top¬ 
ping onions. The time for harvesting 
onions is indicated by the dying down of 
the tops. Pull the onions or rake them 
out, and leave them in windrows on the 
ground to cure. When dry enough cut or 
twist off the remaining tops and roots, and 
keep them in a dry cool place. 
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