256 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
December 21, 1895. 
HINTS FOR AMATEURS. 
Forcing Rhubarb. 
The ability to force flowers, fruit, and vegetables is 
without doubt one of the highest branches of the 
gardeners’ art, and it is a qualification in which many 
members of the craft pride themselves upon their 
efficiency There can be no doubt that it takes a 
thoroughly good man to obtain all the various 
delicacies in the way of fruit, flowers, and vege¬ 
tables at the season of the year when fashion has 
declared that they must be forthcoming. Nature is 
not liberal enough in these our northern climes to 
give us a perpetual summer, and thus the gardener 
has to wrestle with her in her dark moods with what 
success he may, and to provide for his protegees an 
artificial spring and summer, to which they respond 
with varying degrees of readiness. None, however, 
are more easily accommodated than Rhubarb. No 
expensive houses are necessary, and we may add no 
very great amount of cultural skill required, to have 
it in plenty soon after the commencement of the 
New Year up to the time when it may be obtained 
from plants outside. The methods employed in 
forcing it are as varied as they are numerous, and 
even the crudest of them are abundantly rewarded. 
There is also this to be said for forced Rhubarb, 
that in the opinion of the majority of people it is of 
far better flavour than that which is furnished 
naturally by plants out of doors. The frugal house¬ 
wife prefers it because it does not need so much 
sugar to make it palatable, and connoisseurs aver 
that the flavour is far more delicate. That this is a 
pretty general opinion is amply borne out by a peep 
at the vast extent of market gardens where Rhubarb 
is grown, for whole fields of it may be seen in the 
earlier part of the year covered with little heaps of 
manure that at a distance give the place the appear¬ 
ance of a miniature hay field, although it can 
scarcely be claimed for them that they smell as 
sweet. 
Now we might ask the question, “ if it pays these 
men to force Rhubarb to supply the market, why 
should it not pay the holder of small gardens to force 
enough to supply his own wants ? ” Yes ! the sceptic 
may answer, but these men know how to do the 
thing at the least possible expense and with the 
minimum of trouble, whilst I know very little about 
it and would be sure to make a muddle of it if I tried. 
To this we might answer, not necessarily. There 
are some people, we are very well aware, who are 
surprisingly industrious in making mistakes, and if 
there is a wrong way to take they invariably take it. 
Amateurs may, it is true, make mistakes sometimes, 
but as a rule they are able to profit by their failures, 
and whether such an one knows the way to conduct 
a certain operation or no, if he knows how not to do 
it he has advanced a step in the right direction. 
Contrary to the rules for forcing many other plants, 
Rhubarb does not need the presence of light to 
develop its leaf stalks. The roots require to be 
stimulated into growth by a moist and gentle heat, 
and the leaf stalks soon begin to appear. In fact, all 
the energy of the plants is concentrated upon the pro¬ 
duction of these petioles, for the leaves, which are of 
no service in the absence of light, are dwarfed and 
stunted as long as light is withheld. 
Two methods of forcing may be adopted—viz., 
lifting the plants and bringing them into the heat of 
a greenhouse, Mushroom house, or warm cellar; or 
taking the heat to them—in other words, forcing them 
as they stand in the ground without disturbing them. 
Both plans have their advantages, although the 
latter is most generally adopted by market growers. 
But for early supplies nothing beats the practice of 
lifting the roots and bringing them within doors. 
Many an old shed or cellar might be made use of in 
this way, and if the amateur is so happy as to possess 
a Mushroom house the two may very well be grown 
together. 
Supposing it is elected to force a few roots in this 
way, they should be lifted from the ground at once 
and packed closely together in wooden boxes, in the 
bottoms of which has first been placed a layer of soil 
a couple of inches deep, or thereabouts. If procur¬ 
able, leaf mould is the best material to use, as, being 
so light, the boxes may be afterwards moved about 
easily, but, if not, ordinary garden soil may be used. 
The interstices between the roots must also be filled 
up with soil, simply shaking it down well, and not 
attempting to make it at all firm ; and lastly a light 
layer may be placed all over the roots. This done 
they may be put into the Mushroom house, which 
should have a temperature of about 55 0 Fahr., which 
will be quite warm enough for them. Of course they 
will start away in a much lower temperature than 
this, but growth will, as a natural result, be very 
much slower. Water will not be necessary for the 
present, but will be required later on, when it may 
be given through the medium of a fine rose can. 
No scruple about removing too many of the stalks 
need be entertained, as after roots have been lifted 
and forced in this manner they are of no further use 
for planting. All the stalks, therefore, may be taken 
off them previous to their being consigned to the 
rubbish heap. 
Now, with regard to the second method. This is 
simplicity itself, and needs no great expenditure of 
labour or exercise of skill. Gardeners who are able 
to have all that they require usually invest in a 
number of special forcing pots. These are made on 
the same principle as the pots used for Seakale, with 
movable tops, although they are built in larger 
sizes. These are very handy, for they can just be 
placed over the stools and the manure heaped 
around them. The first cost for pots of this kind is, 
however, considerable, although if protected after 
they are done with for the season from boys and 
other animals who move stones, they will last for a 
lifetime, and will far more than repay their original 
cost. If these are not obtainable pots of various 
kinds may easily be improvised by inverting wooden 
barrels or boxes, placing them over the stools, and 
surrounding them with fermenting material. Roots 
so treated now should give a supply during February, 
and will form a succession to those which have been 
forced in pots or boxes in cellars. 
The manure, of course, may be a serious item to 
procure, but it should be remembered that it loses 
not a scrap of its virtue in thus being used whilst in 
the earlier stages of decomposition. It will come in 
very useful for applying to plots of ground after the 
heat has all gone out of it and the Rhubarb no longer 
needs protection. This will be some time during 
April next, when all roots that are thus forced as 
they stand should be uncovered to the light and air, 
nothing more being pulled from them after that 
date. They will thus be allowed a long period 
wherein to recoup themselves. 
The instructions that have here been given are of 
the simplest possible character, and yet they are the 
tactics adopted by those who know all about it in 
procuring early supplies of the much-esteemed sub¬ 
stitute for fruit. Many market growers dig a trench 
around the roots to be forced, fill this in with 
fermenting manure, and tread it down firmly. Not 
only are increased stores of nutriment thus added to 
the soil, upon which the plants feed greedily, but the 
natural coldness of the soil at this time of the year 
is obviated. For obtaining early Rhubarb this idea 
may, of course, be carried out by the amateur without 
a great deal of extra trouble ; but it is not necessary 
to go thus far for later crops.— Rex. 
-.5.- 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. 
Faulty Paths. — One of the paths in my flower 
garden is in a deplorable condition, and, although it 
is well supplied with drains, it is almost always damp 
and dirty, and anything but a pleasure to walk upon. 
I should like to thoroughly renovate it. Please give 
me some assistance with your advice.— P. 
The path should be dug out to at least a depth of 
a foot, so as to allow of the insertion of a good 
foundation, without which it is useless to expect a 
dry and substantial surface. A layer of clinkers 
may then be put in to the depth of about six inches, 
and next a layer of burnt clay, rough gravel or old 
mortar rubbish about three inches in depth. Upon 
this the new gravel may be laid. This should be 
not less than four inches in depth. Let the path be 
slightly raised in the middle and slope gradually and 
gently towards the sides. This will allow the water 
to run away very readily. It is not alone necessary 
for paths to be made well in the first instance, but it 
is likewise important that they should be kept well 
afterwards. Thus the roller must be put to work 
now and again, and, indeed, pretty frequently for the 
first few weeks after the paths have been made, if 
the enjoyment of possessing a nice, dry, solid surface 
upon which it is a pleasure to walk is to be 
experienced. - 
Fag asks for the name of the white Azalea that is 
so common in the markets about Christmas time; 
also as to the best place to obtain young plants of 
it at a fairly reasonable price. 
Deutsche Perle is the name of the variety in 
question. Thousands of plants of it are forced each 
year, as it is one of the very best varieties for the 
purpose. You should be able to get it from almost 
any nurseryman who makes greenhouse plants a 
speciality, or you might consult our advertising 
columns, in which, from time to time, will be found 
notices of such subjects for disposal. 
Pruning Goseberries.—As you are troubled so 
much with birds pecking out the buds of fruit trees 
in your locality we should decidedly advise you .Ilex, to 
wait until spring before you attempt to prune your 
Gooseberries. Even then it will not be wise to 
prune too hard, just thinning out the small growths 
of the centre of the trees and removing any old wood 
that is of little further use. Shortening of the 
branches must not be too severely practised, but 
only with a view to keeping the bushes within due 
limits. 
Woodlice.— Annoyed writes: "My greenhouse is 
literally infested with woodlice. Will you kindly 
tell me how to get rid of them ? ” 
These little pests multiply at such a tremendous 
rate, especially in the warm houses, that it needs the 
' exercise of a deal of patience to exterminate them. 
A few Potatos may be cut in halves, hollowed out 
slightly, and laid here and there among the plants. 
These serve as admirable traps, and if examined 
several times a day, and the lice which have taken 
shelter beneath them destroyed, will soon cause a 
diminution in the numbers of these disagreeable 
vermin. 
Dahlias. —I wish to plant some Dahlias next year. 
Can I do anything now toward s preparing the 
situation they are to occupy ?— G. Travers. 
Yes, certainly ! Dahlias love a deep rich soil, and 
therefore, the plot of ground upon which it is pro¬ 
posed to plant them must be well manured now, and 
deeply dug, leaving the surface rough for the frost 
to pulverize and sweeten. Work of this kind is much 
better performed now than in spring for several 
reasons, the chief of which is that it is not advisable 
to allow raw manure to touch the roots of any new 
planted subjects. Also the question of time has to 
be considered, as during spring there are such 
numbers of jobsneediog attention that some of them 
are apt to be neglected. 
Rose for Greenhouse.—I intend planting a Rose in 
my greenhouse, and training it over a part of the 
roof. What variety would you recommend ? May 
I plant now ? —F S. 
For under glass culture nothing really beats the 
good old Marechal Niel, the flowers of which are 
always in request. Besides.it grows so strongly 
that it will soon cover all the space you will care to 
give it. Its strongest point, however, is that it takes 
very kindly to forcing, and may be coaxed into bloom 
early with very little tiouble. The blooms, also, are 
finer from plants grown under glass than they are from 
outside bushes. William Allen Richardson finds a 
good deal of favour in many quarters, on account of 
the uncommon colour of its flowers. Its half- 
opened buds are very suitable for button-holes. 
Planting may be conducted at any time now—the 
sooner the better. 
Cuttings damping off —I put in a few cuttiDgs of 
the pretty Pelargonium Mrs. Pollock at the begin¬ 
ning of September. They rooted fairly well, and 
appeared to be doing finely. Of late, however, they 
have gone off wholesale with damp. Can I do any¬ 
thing to stop this mortality, which, if continued for 
much longer, will leave me scarcely any plants by 
spring.— T. U. Jarvis. 
To keep Pelargoniums of the Mrs. Pollock type 
through the winter requires a rather higher tempera¬ 
ture than for the common zonals. They should be 
kept near the glass in a house which can be kept 
up to at least 45 0 by night, and if two or three 
degrees warmer so much the better. Most likely 
the temperature of your house has been too low, and 
this, combined with perhaps a too free use of the 
watering can, has caused the mischief you deplore. 
Maintain a higher temperature, therefore, if this is 
possible, and keep the plants rather dry at the root. 
You might also go over them with a sharp knife or 
pair of scissors, and cut off any decayed portions 
that appear. 
