Occupations > Abercrombie's improved practical gardener; with a monthly calendar for the flower garden

RHUBARB.
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The leaves of the Common Rhubarb are blunt
and smooth, with reddish veins, somewhat hairy
underneath; leaf-stalk grooved and rounded on
the edges; and has been the longest in cultiva¬
tion.
The Officinal Rhubarb has large leaves, some¬
what cordate, smooth, and of a light green
colour. Under good cultivation they often mea¬
sure four or five feet in length, including the foot
stalk. This sort is esteemed the most succulent.
Bastard Rhubarb. This is distinguished from
the two preceding ones by its fine palmate
leaves, and is considered the true Turkey or
Russian Rhubarb.
Use.
All the sorts are cultivated for the root-leaf¬
stalk, which are peeled, cut down, and formed
into pies and tarts, in the manner of apples and
gooseberries, for which it makes a good substi¬
tute. The Officinal Rhubarb affords the most
abundant and succulent supplies for this purpose.
Propagation.
This plant may be propagated either by seed
or by parting the roots, but by seed is inevitably
the best mode; and seed sown in its final situa¬
tion, and the plants thinned out and never re¬
moved, makes the best plantations. If sown in a
seed-bed, afterwards to be removed, the seed
should be sown in spring, in light, deep earth;
and when the plants are up they must be kept