! December 22. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
221 
in order to accommodate the plant to the conditions most 
conducive to its well-being. 
Most old gardens that have been under a good and 
liberal system of cultivation present a stratum ot some 
twelve or fourteen inches of rich, fine soil, ot the class 
which, in a practical phrase, is called “ top spit; below 
this, a depth of nearly as much more of tolerably good 
soil is also found, which, receiving trenching now and 
then, presents a mass of food for deep-rooted plants, or 
assists those which the heats ot summer compel to send 
their roots downwards in search of more food than the 
“ top spit ” can afford: such soils, with a subsoil not 
too dry, are certainly the best substitute that can be 
made for the river-side flats, and on such the Rhubarb 
will grow and attain a degree of perfection in proportion 
to the richness of the material by which it is led, tor the 
Rhubarb is a greedy devourer of those rich and unctuous 
substances which comprise the essence of the. dunghill, 
if, however, the soil be stiff and heavy, with only a 
sliallow portion under tillage, and below that an im¬ 
penetrable clay, some modification ot it must be 
attempted before Rhubarb is planted ; trenching, as 
recommended before, must be done, with this addition, 
that the top soil must be again retained at top, and with 
the bottom must be mixed some opening matter ot a 
kind likely to retain its usefulness; broken stones, in 
considerable quantity, lime and mortar rubbish, sand, 
ashes, or any mixture of these, with such things as 
leaves, rotten tan, or dung, even matters which of them¬ 
selves present but a poor notion ot fertility, are of great 
service when mixed with something else differing widely 
from them; in that respect, even the waste rubbish ot 
the carpenter’s yard is not without its utility, tor when 
mixed with a stubborn and adhesive clay it separates 
the component parts, and probably before it decays, ibe 
accession of the air it had been tbe means ot inviting 
below may have worked a partial change in the clay, so 
as to ameliorate its condition very much. Now, this is 
equally applicable to many other things, as well as to 
Rhubarb, but it is essentially so to it, for without a good 
depth of soil for the roots to ramble in the stalks will 
be poor and stringy, and not produced in anything like 
the abundauce that constitutes a good crop; however, 
supposing all that was necessary to be done had been 
done to render the soil good, it is now fit to receive the 
plants, before doing which, however, let us take a review 
of the kinds now offered to our use. 
One of the oldest kinds is the small green-stalked, 
called the Old Green. This is but little grown now, 
except by those who retain it tor its flavour, which is 
certainly superior to that ot all the larger kinds; but it is 
too small to meet the wants of buyers, and its produce too 
meagre to furnish a remuneration to the growers, who 
receive so small a sum per dozen bundles. Another 
old kind, alike passing fast into oblivion, is the cut¬ 
leaved variety, called The Turkey. This kind, intro¬ 
duced with a view to produce the medicine which 
passes under that name, soon proved the inability ot 
our climate to produce that article in anything like the 
strength required for the purposes intended. This kind 
was never much a favourite at table, its ill-associated 
name, perhaps, assisting iti its unpopularity, if not also 
injuring its neighbours; it is but little seen now. After 
this, followed some hybrids of more or less merit, 
but these all bowed to the bulky and ponderous stalks 
of The Giant, which appeared some thirty years ago. 
This variety was an especial favourite at the time with 
amateurs and others, who prided themselves on the pro¬ 
duction of stalks of almost fabulous weight; but it was 
in time discovered that the actual weight of good usable 
Rhubarb stalks which it furnished was not greater than 
that of many other kinds of less pretentions, while its 
flavour was inferior to some; hence, it fell into 
disrepute, and other kinds, many of them, having only 
a local name, were substituted, until the celebrated 
grower, Mr. Myatt, commenced improving the kinds, 
when we wore supplied in his Victoria and Linncean, 
which are almost all that can be wished for. I might, how¬ 
ever, add, that prior to his furnishing the last-named, a 
good early variety, without any other cognomen than 
the Early Red, found its way into many gardens, and by 
its prolific, as well as other qualties, speedily became a 
favourite, and it is quite as early as the Linncean. How 
ever, 1 do not despair of seeing earlier kinds produced 
yet than any we have, but those now regarded the best 
are good in other points as well; therefore, for the 
amateur’s use, I would simply advise the Victoria and 
Linncean ; and if he obtains small plants from a nursery. j 
with only one crown, I would advise their being planted 
on the good ground mentioned above, at about four feet 
apart each way, and be sure not to cut the stalks too 
soon, and I have no doubt but the result will in the end 
be satisfactory. Offsets are not produced in such num¬ 
bers as in many other plants, but the plant produces 
seed, and when that has been carefully attended to, and 
true to its kind, the produce is about as true as that of 
Cabbages, Brocoli, Celery, &c.; which means that now 
aud then a spurious one might be expected, and pro- | 
bably an occasional improved variety will present itself, j 
The seed ought to be sown on a hotbed, or where many i 
“tender annuals” are sown, and as soon as the plants 
will bear handling, let them be planted out in some fine 
soil, suitable and good. A subsequent change may, 
perhaps, be necessary during the summer, but the 
autumn, or winter, is the best time to place them in 
their permanent quarters; and as tew plots of ground oi 
equal extent produce so much edible matter as that 
occupied by Rhubarb, let it be liberally dealt with at 
the outset. Ro bson - 
MANAGEMENT OE FORWARD EWES AND 
LAMBS. 
{Continued from page 207.) 
The Lambs, whilst young, should have Hay, or Hay- 
chaff, twice a day, but after they arrive at the age of 
eight or nine weeks they should receive Hay three times 
per day—the first bait, as has been stated, the first J 
thing in the morning; the second at noon; and the third 
about three o’clock in the afternoon. It will not answer 
much later in the day, for in the short day's of wintei, 
after the Lambs have drawn away to the Ewes, they 
will lie down for the night, and the portion of Hay not 
consumed will, in case of rain, be distasteful to them, 
and damaged for further use. The Lambs, however, 
seldom consume all the Hay, nor should they be re¬ 
quired to do so, for it is better that they select the best 
portions of it, the remainder being removed and given 
to the Ewes. The Oil-cake and Peas should be given, 
as before observed, according to their wants, but taking 
care to use covered troughs, aud the last bait in the 
afternoon should not be given later than three o clock, , 
otherwise a portion may be left in the troughs, which | 
will be damaged in case of rain, with change of wind, 
during the night time, for although the troughs may be 
covered, yet in damp weather, or drifting rain, tho cake 
will become damaged or unpalatable. Roots for the 
Lambs should be supplied at short intervals, taking 
care to have any refuse remaining in tho troughs re¬ 
moved every morning; cleanliness in feeding Lambs 
being indispensable. The Ewes may receive their Oil- 
