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Show 406 RHUBARB. RHUBARB. 1784 he raised upwards of a hundred and twenty plants in the common ground from seeds of the preceding year. He had sent to the Society two roots, weighing twenty-eight and thirty pounds: but this year he sent a single root, which weighed, when taken up on the 16th of October, fifty-six pounds: in a few days it lost four or five pounds, and on the 8th of November; when it was weighed before a committee, it was foundto weigh onlyforty-five pounds. The largest root before produced to the Society by Sir Alexander Dick weighed forty-two pounds. Mr. Robert Davis the younger, of Minehcad, in Somersetshire, merchant, in the spring of the year 1779 sowed some seed of rheum palmatum, which he received from Dr. Brocklesby, and planted out seven hundred and twenty of the plants at the distance of five feet. The soil for the most part was sandy and light, the rest a deep black loamy garden ground. A great number of plants on the first soil died; but those on the latter continued for the most part vigorous, and produced larger roots than the other, although not superior, if equal in quality. It did not appear that the distance of five feet in any respect incommoded or injured the most luxuriant plants. In the summer of 1783 the whole plantation was taken up, and the number of roots was near, if-not quite, four hundred. The whole produced three hundred pounds of dried rhubarb. The gold medal of the Society was adjudged to Mr. John Ball, surgeon at Williton, in the parish of St. Decuman, in the county of Somerset, for raising, in 1788, upwardsof four hundredplants of rheum palmatum, standing six feet asunder each way. The following year, having bythe severity of the winter lost fifty of the four hundred and thirty plants above mentioned, he filled up the vacancies with young plants, and planted upwards of six hundred more at six feet apart, and about two hundred at four feet. For this additional plantation he received another gold medal. It appears that some of Mr. Ball’s roots of five years old weighed, when fresh, upwards of seventy pounds; and that he used the bark for tinctures, finding it full as good in every respect as thebest part of the root. His practice is to manure or dress them with rotten dung, coal ashes, lime, mould, old mud wall, &c. In 1792 Mr. Thomas Jones, of Fish-street-hill, London, planted four hundred and twentyplants of rheum palmatum, AOT at six feet distance, at Fourtree-hill, Enfield, Middlesex, and had the gold medal adjudged to him by the Society. The same year Mr. Halley, of Pontefract, in Yorkshire, had the silver medal for producing samples of rhubarb better cured than any that had been produced before. It seems that his father had been in the habit of raising large quantities of the roots, which in war time he disposed of yery freely, but in time of peace the druggists procured it from abroad at a lowerrate. In 1793 the gold medal was adjudged to Mr. William Hayward, of Banbury, in Oxfordshire, for raising full eight hundred plants of the true rhubarb; and a third gold medal to Mr. Baal, for possessing one hundred andfifty-eight pounds of it, of his own growth and curing, equal in quality to Turkey or Russia rhubarb; and communicating his culture of it. The year following Mr. Ball had a fourth gold medal adjudged to him for possessing ninety-seven pounds of the true rhubarb of his own growth, and for communicating the culture and method of cure. In 1795 Mr. Robert Davis before mentioned, of Minehead, in Somersetshire, had the gold medal for raising nine hundred andthirteen rhubarb plants, and giving some account of their culture. Also the silver medal to Nicholas Ashton, of Woolton Hall, near Liverpool, esq. for sending samples of rhubarb very well cured. This rhubarb was planted in 1778 or 1779, and was taken up and cured in October 1795. In 1797 the gold medal was adjudged to the Rev. James Stillingfleet, of Hotham, in Yorkshire, for his culture and cure of rhubarb, of which he gives an ample detail. Also to Mr. Thomas Jones above mentioned, for raising nine hundredand thirty-five plants, and giving a full account of his method ofculture. The following year the same Mr, Junes had a rewardof thirty guineas from the Society for having raised and planted threc thousand and forty plants of the true rhubarb, making up the whole number raised by him nearly five thousand since the year 1792. Ile here adds manyexcellent hints respecting its culture. Again this meritorious gentleman applied for the gold medal, value thirty guineas, in the following address: Cook Sir, To THE PRESIDENT. ‘¢ The certificate which accompanies this communication will inform the Society that I have planted in the year 1799 four thau- |