The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1912-03-07
RHUBARB, OR PIE PLANT
SHOULD BE GIVEN THOROUGH
CULTIVATION DURING
SUMMER.
BY DR.. J.. c. vynitten, College Of
Agriculture, University
of Missouri.

Pieplant is one of our oldest, best
known, and most highly priced gar
den vegetables. 1t Is one of the ear
liest to appear in spring, and conse-
quently comes at time when succu-
lent or acid plants are appreciated.
AS prepared for the table, it par
takes in character of the nature Of a
fruit, being sprightly and acid like
the berries. Its greatest use comes
before the strawberry begins to ripen
to take its place.
The soil requirements are similar
to those of asparagus; that is, the
richer the soil the better. Heavy ma.
nuring is essential, and dressing of
manure should be put on every year.
The best varieties of pieplant are
Linnaeus, Victoria and Mammoth.
The Linnaeus is the first to produce
in spring. 1t has smaller stems, how
ever, than the Victoria or the NAM
moth. For that reason, Linnaeus is
usually planted for the first early
crop, to be followed later by the Nam
moth and Victoria.
Plants may be secured from seed
or by dividing the crowns of old
plants. Plants do not come true to
variety from seed. The seedlings are
very variable, some of them having
small slender leaf stalks, and occa-
sionally one having the large desira-
Bile leaf stalks. On account of this
variability, new varieties are occa-
sionally secured from seed.
Ordinarily it is best to secure divis-
ions of old pieplant crowns for plant
ing. These may be secured from the
nurseryman, or by dividing any good
plants from an adjacent garden.
The plants may be set either in au-
tumn or in early spring. They should
be set so the crowns are barely COW
cred by the soil. If planted deep, the
crowns are almost sure to rot during
the hot weather of the first season.
Plants should be set two feet apart
in rows four feet apart, for the home
garden. In large commercial areas
where it is desirable to cultivate the
plants both ways, they may be set
in check rows 81 feet apart each
way. Like asparagus, pieplant should
be given thorough cultivation during
the summer and liberal manuring
every winter.
In pulling the leaf stalks for the
table, care should be taken to pull
out the base of the leaf stalk Not
infrequently, the leaf will be broken
off at the surface of the ground, leav-
ing a short piece of it's base attached
to the parent plant. The base OF the
leaf left in the ground will die, and
frequently will begin to rot. This
may induce a disease known as stem
rot which attacks the stem and de-
stroys it. Stem rot Is the most Sc
rious disease of pieplant In this Sec
ton. The two ways to prevent 1t are
(1) to plant the pieplant near the sur
face, and (2) to be sure to get the en-
tire leaf stem in pulling the product.
Pieplant usually tends to go to seed
shortly after it's leaves are produced
in the spring. These seed stalks
should be kept broken off close to
the ground as fast as they form. II
the plants are allowed to go to seed
their strength tends to go to the seed
rather than to the formation of leaves.
After the pieplant has stood for
two or three years, the crowns be.
come broad and many leaves are pro-
duced. If allowed to become crowd
ed in this way, the leaves in few
years will be small and spindling,
owing to their struggle for food
supply. To prevent this, crowns
should be divided every few years.
This division may be accomplished
by cutting out some Of the outer Sec
lions of the crown and root system.
These sections make good plants to
set out elsewhere. Handled In this
way, pieplant should be very pro-
ductive and a profitable crop.
Manure is best applied before q
cultivated crOp according to PROBES.