Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-07-29
.RHUDARB GROWN
DURING WINTER
CAN BE RAISED IN THE CELLAR
AFTER SEASON OUT OF
DOORS is OVER.
1T is EASY ENOUGH TO RAISE
A LOT OF TENDER
SHOOTS.

plans for the fall and winter. If you
have a cellar with dirt floor, and
have rhubard plants which have sup
piled you in the spring, here is a
plan by which they can be made to
furnish a crop of tender shoots in
the winter, when the pies and sauce
are most welcome. Rapid growth Is
essential to insure tenderness OF the
rhubarb. The best can be raised in
the winter, a warm cellar being the
only requisite for forcing it. The
roots of the plants should be dug up
late in the fall with large quantities
of dirt adhering to them. These
chunks of earth containing the roots
may be piled up outdoors until mid
winter, when they should be carried
into the cellar and placed in a bed
prepared in the earthen floor. The
chunks of earth should be laid close
together in rich. moist earth and
covered to a depth of four to six
inches.
Growth soon STARTS. Light is not a
requisite. In a short time the rhu-
barb will be ready for the table The
shoots will be almost Colorless and
remarkably tender and palatable. A
small bed containing only half doz-
en- well-developed hills will be sufti-
cient to supply family for several
weeks. Roots send up a large num-
Der of shoots and exhaust themselves
in about four weeks. For an addi-
tional supply roots should be planted
at intervals of two or three weeks.
Growing Sweet Potatoes.
The sweet potato is at least one
third more nourishing than the irish
potato and outyields the latter With
only a little more care No bugs
bother the vine. In southern states
it is a staple and in the northern
states it should be.
Good garden soil, not over rich ana
a trifie sandy, makes the ideal spot
for the plants. Prepare the ground
by blowing it deep; in the spring as
soon as the frost is out of the ground
and the latter is Gry, it should be
thoroughly borrowed.
While it is customary TO ridge the
ground and plant in the ridges many
successful growers plant on the level.
Set the plants in rows three and a
half feet apart and about fifteen
inches apart in the rows, using a lit
the water with each plant if the soil
is dry If the ground has become
compact from successive rains before
planting time it should be plowed
again. The best time to set out
plants is on a rainy day or just be-
fore a rain. Young plants can be
bought from dealers at moderate
prices. They should be three and a
quarter to four inches long, with good
roots and few leaves.
The season has a great deal to do
with the quality of the crop. In
extremely wet weather the quality IS
not as good as when rains are less fire.
quent and not heavy
Hardy PhIox.
Phlox peniculata, the tall perennial
phlox of which there are SO many ad-
mirable varieties in cultivation and
which is becoming so popular, is a
native flower found growing wild in
many states and generally in rocky
places. The many beautiful forms
of the species in cultivation now
have been obtained by hybridization
and selection. The plants begin to
flower about the end of July and con-
tinue until autumn. There are 81
many kinds listed it is a puzzle to the
beginner to choose. They are most
effective for herbaceous borders and
many are so tall they can be USED az
a background in masses of one color.
They succeed well in almost any
soil or position but must be kept
we'll watered during the hot weather
or they will lose their lower leaves
and present wilted appearance. The
should be lifted, divided and
reset every two years. Plenty or
fertilizer is needed, mulch of ma
nure about the roots in summer Ding
very beneficial The old stems
should be removed in the fall after
Pure white and light
pink varieties are fine for cut flow
ers.
To increase stock of choice varieties
take the small side shoots, insert III
sand and keep in moist and shad-
ed place until roots are formed.
When the slips are well rooted they
can be planted and many will pro
duce flowers the same season. Seeds
produce inferior flowers in most
cases.
PoIyantha Roses.
A recently introduced rose that
will have many admirers is Clothilde
rv.ert, a dwarf polyantha which is
s,1v and of the same time is A