Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-01-04
The Culture Of Rhubarb.

The Culture Of Rhubarb.
Every garden, large or small, should
have a dozen or two rhubarb plants.
For pies, sauce, ETC., in the early
spring-time, it is far better than canned
fruits of any description. Intact. moth
ing equals its peculiar appetizing flavor
at that time. .
When the warm days of spring come,
every one who works on the farm is
subject to an indescribable feeling of
languor and fe%verishness, accompanied
with loss of appetite. 1t is commonly
called .'spring fever" Water pals on
the palate, and does not seem to Stake
the burning thirst nor have much effect
in reducing the heat Of the body. 1t
sometimes feels good to the hands and
face, but taken inwardly it does not APP
pear to "reach the right spot exactly,
and there is a craving for something
sour. Many persons resort to alcoholic
bitters and indicated drinks OF various
kinds to stone up the system" but they
are wholly unnecessary, and frequently
livery injurious; increasing instead Of
diminishing the heat and thirst, and
sometimes laying the foundations Of
complaints that are of a serious charac-
ter. | would advise farmers to avoid
them, especially at that season .of the
year. The acid Juice Of cooked rhubarb
is Just what is needed, and d small
quantity of it taken at each inca! will
be found exceedingly refreshing an
helpful.
Ii there is no rhubarb in the garden,
procure a couple of roots from a neigh
Dor. One whole root may be divided
into half a dozen or a dozen. All that
is needed to start a plant is q bud with
a small piece of root attached.
In planting these pieces of root, it is
not necessary to dig q canal at great
labor and expense, and fill it with sew
eral w~agon-loads of manure, as di-
rected in many seed catalogues and
books on gardening. Dig holes elgh-
teen inches square and the same in
depth, about four feet apart. Put in
ten inches of strong, w%ell-rotted ma
nure, it with four inches of top
soil, set the root in the center with the
bud up, and fill the hole, heaping up
the soil a little over the plant because it
will settle three or four inches.
set forty plants in this manner the
latter part of last November, the largest
of which was not over four inches long,
and none exceeded my finger in thick
ness. This fall many of the leaf-stalks
were fully three inches in diameter, and
next spring 1 shall have enough rhu-
bard to supply a multitude with mate
rial for pies and sauce
. The planting a be done any time
from the first Of November to the first
of March, whenever the ground can be
| worked.
Keep weeds out. and let the plants
grow the first year without removing
any OF the stalks. In the fall, after the
leaves have died down, cover each plant
with four to six inches of well-rotted,
strong barnyard manure. Rake it off
as early the following February as pos
sible, so that the sun may warm the
ground and start the plants early.
Bear in mind that the warmer and
drier the location the earlier you will
have ''pie-plant pie" Select a spot
fully exposed to the sun, and well shell
tered from the cold winds Of spring. A
half-dozen plants set in a proper situa-
ton will give more sauce and 4 thou
sand times more satisfaction than q hun
dred set in 3 cold, bleak spot.
Rhubarb may be forced, if desired, by
setting a barrel open at both ends over
the plant, and banking up around it
| with fresh stable manure. The heat
from the manure will warm the soil and
start the plant, and long, tender stalks
without any "peeling on them will be
the result. The barrel must be covered
during cold, frosty days and nights, and
also during cold rains. 1t is hardly
worth while to force it, however, except
for the purpose of beating your neigh
Dor. When forced too early it is def
Gent in the refreshing acidity that gives
it lis value.
A plant is good for about four years.,
providing the seed-stalks are keptdown.
After four years the leaves become so
numerous and crowded that the stalks
are too small for use, and the plant is
said to be run out" 1t is much easier
to start a new bed than to renovate the
old one. If the plants must be obtained
from a n%urseryman. it is always best to
order them in the late fall, and have
the ground ready for them when they
arrive.
There are three or four named vari-
et,es, with but little real difference. The
size OF the leaf-stalks depends wholly
upon good manure and proper atten-
ton.
The farmer who fails to provide a
plentiful supply Of this excellent plant
for his tamil; is guilty of serious negli-
gence, and deserves to go pieless and
sauceless all his days.-Cor. N. Y. Er-
Gmtne7.