Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-12-05
Facts for Our Farmers.
The Winter Rhubarb-4odse.


The Winter Rhubarb-House.
A winter rhubarb-house is one of I
the most profitable small places on
the farm. One Of these simple build
ings, costing $40, brings the ownerf
from $500 to $500 every winter. The
house is owned by a resident of Sum
ner, a small country village, near
Seattle, Wash, says a Washington |
correspondent of the Country Gentle.
man. He was once engaged as
banker, but left the money changers
to make a small farm. He is refer
red to as ''the rhubarb king" His
paintings consist Of six acres for the
summer crop. The field is cultivated
in about the same manner as pieplant
everywhere. But the winter house is
the only one in the state. The build
ing is so feet long, 20 feet wide and 4
feet on either side. The gables ex-
tend up seven feet. The lumber is
plain and put up and down after the |
old Yankee frame pattern. There is
o door in one end but no windows or
other places for light to enter. A small
round cannon-ball stove supplies the
heat required. 1t is fed with coal.
The stove pipe reaches from one end
to the other and out at a fue. This
keeps the temperature at the required
degree by occasional filling of the
stove
After the holidays the man wheels
III ordinary sandy soil, and banks up
to the depth Of about six inches. The
floor is of earth. When this soil at
tains a temperature of about go de-
grees, the rhubarb roots from thc
fields are dug up and placed on the
soil, packed as closely together as pos
sible The crowns are covered with
soil, or sand, and then a layer of barn
yard litter or manure is placed on top. !
Then the whole thing is wet thor
oughly with liquid fertilizers. In a
few days the rhubarb sprouts appear
and within two weeks from planting
can be picked for market The stalks
grow without leaves. They shoot up1
to about two feet in height and have
only slight curled top where the
over two inches in diameter The
stems, or stalks when broken from
the roots, resemble wax They are |
brittle and almost clear in color. They
are marketed in the cities of Puget
sound and some is shipped to British
Columbia. The grower never places
any Oh the general market. He con-
j fro ofc,
restaurant proprietors for the output.
This sometimes reaches 400 pounds at
a shipment. The plants keep grow
ing until March
Winter rhubarb sells on the Pacific
coast at about 25 cents a pound. There
is practically no end to the demand, /
as it never even gets on the market. /
The grower receives orders from many
points and is compelled to decline
filing them, because he cannot disap-
point his regular patrons. This shows
the condition of the trade and the
necessity for many others to enter the
field of supplying the rhubarb to city
patrons. 1t comes on at a time when
nothing else is available for the tart
sauce demanded by epicures and others
willing to pay we'll for what they eat.
a field is open for the small farmer
and gardener in the vicinity. of large
cities. Such houses can be construct
ed cheaply anywhere. The prices OF
lumber of course vary with location,
but building ought not to cost over
SIS in any state. The work is easy
and the profits large. Rhubarb roots
are easily grown from seed in the gar
Gen beds. The plant is something that
should be found on every farm. There
are different varieties, but any Of the
commercial sorts may be forced in a
dark, warm house where there is
plenty of soil and moisture at the
roots