Horticultural Note.<^. 199 



The more nearly we have our celery blanched at storing, the shorter time 

 will it keep. So the hundred plants we wished for use in February and 

 March we did not hill up in October, but took a newspaper sheet and folded 

 it into a band eighteen inches in length and six inches wide, wrapped around 

 loosely and tied. This forced it to grow upright. Fearing freezing weather 

 before ready to store, I pulled the bands up around the tops and threw earth 

 against the sides. After storing away I threw the covering off' the trench 

 every fair day, admitting sun and air, which also helped to retard blanching. 



I have my celery convenient in all weather. I have sawed a molasses 

 barrel in twain, and taking the two "tubs" to the trench, filled them, dis- 

 turbing the lump of earth at the root as little as possible, breaking the 

 decayed stalks ofi and packing closely upriglit. Taking the tubs to the 

 cellar I pour a small bucket of water into each to keep roots moist. I am 

 careful not to wet the leaves or stalks, as this might cause them to decay. 

 This not only makes it very handy to get at, but the celery improves under 

 this treatment. 



In conclusion I will say: The main point in raising very fine celery is to 

 keep it growing continuously. I have yet to see the person who has made 

 celery growing a success, did he not set good plants on soil with a natural 

 supply of moisture, or furnished the water artificially, and the latter plan 

 is the most certain to give the amateur the most gratifying results. Always 

 plant the dwarf kinds, as they are more easy of culture and more than pos- 

 sess all the good points of the taller growing sorts. Do not allow yourself to 

 set more plants than you can attend to properly. One has no idea how 

 much feasting there is in one hundred well grown plants. Three hundred 

 such furnishe our family from October to March, and we are all fond of it, 

 besides allowing for fully one-third which we give to neighbors. 



HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 



BY GRANVILLE COWING, OK INDIANA. 



The Banana Muskmelon. — This melon was offered to the public last 

 spring and represented as being much like a banana in shape and color, but 

 much larger, and of the most delicious flavor. I found it very productive, 

 l^roducing melons from fifteen to twenty-four inches in length, with flesh of 

 a rich salmon color and in shape as represented ; but while the flavor was 

 passable, it was not as good as that of some of the old green- fleshed cante- 

 loupes, and consequently can not be regarded as worthy of general cul- 

 tivation. 



To Preserve Specimen Berries. — As soon as berries are fully grown and 

 before they soften any, pick them off with stems, and immediately put them 

 into alcohol diluted about one third with rainwater. Allow them to stand 

 ten days or two weeks in a cool place, then pour off' and add fresh liquid 



