Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1914 — FORCE THE RHUBARB PLANT FOR WINTER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FORCE THE RHUBARB PLANT FOR WINTER

(By E. VAN BENTHUYSEN.)

Many gardeners are now making rhubarb the paying crop by forcing it for the late winter sale. It does not make much difference whether rhubarb is-grown in .the light or darkness, and for this reason it is easily forced in any kind of building that will protect it from frost, or in cellars. Plants should be plowed out late in the fall, after the first hard frost, and the roots should then be divided and placed on top ot the ground, with sufficient soil oyer them to protect them from the air. » After they, have been slightly frozen they may be set in a root-cellar, or any building which is heated, packed close

together, and covered with very rich soil. It is best to cover the crowns from four to six Inches. Care should be taken not to overwater the plants. Rhubarb may also be forced in unheated buildings, provided they are covered with glass, particularly in the warmer climates. ? Rhubarb, forced in this way, does not develop very large leaves, and the stalk is very much sweeter than that grown out-of-doors. It is also blanched, and if the proper care is taken it may be produced almost white, and very tender and palatable. Sometimes when grown in the dark the stalk produoed la a dark cherry red.

Prolific Rhubarb Grown in New York State.