B. Haq
Rhubarb is a plant native to Mongolia – a country north of China. It was first introduced to England in 1620 for its medicinal properties. Its roots were used to make medicine for digestive health.
Rhubarb Plants
A Favorite Dessert
In the 1780s, people started using rhubarb in baked pies instead of some other fruit, increasing its popularity among the English. In the early 1800s, to keep up with the demand, farmers in Northern England developed an unorthodox method to grow the plant in much greater quantities than ever before.
“Forcing”
The method, known as “forcing,” allows rhubarb plants to grow without being harvested for a period of two years. During this period, the plants keep on storing energy in their roots in the form of carbohydrates.
After two years, during winter, rhubarb plants are moved to an enclosure that is kept heated and totally dark. The plants stop making new leaves as they don’t have access to light to continue the process of photosynthesis. Hence, the plants are “forced” to direct all their energies into making their stalks taller, thicker, and sweeter.
In the process, the plants make snapping and popping sounds as new buds open and stalks grow larger. This is quite a magical sight together with proper sound effects supplied by the plants themselves.
Farming Trickery
Essentially, the farmers trick the plants into thinking it is spring before it is spring. In doing so, the farmers can get rhubarb to sell in the market much earlier than the outdoor crop is ready. This practice has been used, unchanged, for centuries, and handed down from one generation to the next.
Waning Popularity
Over the years, rhubarb has lost the popularity it once enjoyed. In the 1800s, there were 200 growers of rhubarb in England, and they supplied 90 percent of the world’s rhubarb. Today, only about a handful of farmers left that grow rhubarb using the same “forcing” method to grow rhubarb speedily and raucously.
Slow Comeback
The glory is not lost forever. Rhubarb is making a strong comeback thanks to its health benefits. Its stalks are a good source of fiber and contain plenty of calcium to make bones stronger. It is also known to improve cognitive function in Alzheimer's patients.
The Great Debate
Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable? It depends on whom you ask. In the United States, rhubarb is a fruit while in the rest of the world it is considered a vegetable. In 1947, a U.S. judge ruled it a fruit for tax purposes.
Question
What is the most likely reason the author wrote this article?
Responses
A To inform the reader about a unique method of cultivationTo inform the reader about a unique method of cultivation
B To advise the reader about the health benefits of rhubarbTo advise the reader about the health benefits of rhubarb
C To inform the reader that rhubarb is not native to EnglandTo inform the reader that rhubarb is not native to England
D To show the reader different types of farming methodsTo show the reader different types of farming methods
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1 answer
The most likely reason the author wrote this article is:
A To inform the reader about a unique method of cultivation.
The article focuses significantly on the "forcing" method of growing rhubarb and explains how it allows farmers to produce rhubarb more efficiently. While it touches on health benefits and historical context, the emphasis is on the unique cultivation technique.
