REPORT OF MR. W. S. BLAIR. 303 



CELERY, 



About the last of March sow the seed in a flat box or a large flower pot is some- 

 times used. Sow the seed shallow and cover with a piece of white cotton, thus keeping 

 the soil dark and moist. Water frequently but do not go to extremes. Place in a 

 window or where a moderate heat can be obtained. About ten days after sowing the 

 seed will begin to sprout. Remove the covering and be careful not to allow the earth, 

 to dry out. As soon as the plants are large enough to handle transplant to the hot-bed 

 placing them in rows 3 inches apart and from ^ to ^ of an inch apart in the row. Keep 

 shaded for a day or two if the weather should be bright, and keep the plants well 

 watered. With good plants secured early celery culture may be made a success. When 

 the celery is ready to transplant to the open ground, make a trench by ploughing deep, 

 and taking out the loose material with a shovel, put in this trench 6 or 8 inches of well 

 rotted barnyard manure covering with earth and mixing well. Firm the ground well 

 when it will be ready for the plants. If the plants are strong and vigorous the tip of 

 the roots and top should be clipped off. Plant in rows 4 feet apart, and 5 inches apart 

 in the rows. It is advisable to shade the plants for a few days after planting. 



Not much cultivation other than an occasional hoeing is required. Should the 

 season prove dry the plants should occasionally be thoroughly watered. For blanch- 

 ing the early crop of such varieties as the white plume, boards are successfully used 

 placing one on each side of the row, and in a couple of weeks the celery is fit for use. 

 Other varieties of celery for the late supply can be more thoroughly blanched by earth- 

 ing up. This is done where only a limited quantity is grown by wrapping paper around 

 the plants in September and banking with earth. Should paper not be used hold the 

 plant firmly with one hand while the first earth is being placed around the plant, thus 

 preventing the earth from getting in around the stalks, after which bank nearly to the 

 top. 



When storing for the winter, lift the plants with a spade allowing earth to adhere 

 to the roots, pack upright in a deep box in about 6 or 8 inches of earth, place the box 

 on an earth floor in a cool dry cellar. Essential requirements for keeping celery in 

 winter are a cool temperature with roots moist and tops dry. 



The following varieties are recommended as among the most desirable. 



White Plume. — The finest early celery, of dwarf self-blanching habit. It is crisp 

 and solid and has a rich nutty flavour. One of the finest fall and early winter varieties 

 and blanches easily. It is not as good a keeper as the Paris Golden. 



Paris Golden. — Being of the self-blanching habit, it blanches easily. Not as early 

 as the white plume but of a much larger growth. Has a compact solid growth, is crisj5, 

 and has a flavour thab cannot be surpassed. It is a good keeper and the best early 

 variety we have tested. 



Giant Pascal. — Blanches quickly. Stalks are large, thick and crisp, and of a super- 

 ior nutty flavour. It retains remarkable freshness after harvesting and is the best late 

 market variety that we have grown, keeping well all winter. 



LETTUCE. 



There is no garden crop that will give as satisfactory returns for liberal cultivation 

 and manure as lettuce. The value of the crop, as far as quality goes, depends largely 

 upon the richness of the soil. Seed sown in the hot-bed, and transplanted to the open 

 ground as early in the spring as possible, will give the earliest crop. To obtain a 

 succession of crops, sow at intervals of two weeks in rows, in the open ground, and thin 

 out or transplant to one foot apart, making the first sowing as early in the spring as pos- 

 sible. The varieties which have been most satisfactory for general use are as follows : — 



Early Curled Silesia. — This is a valuable variety for forcing. It does not form a 

 cabbage head, but the leaves are large and form a compact mass. The leaves are light 

 green in colour, white inside, tender, crisp, and of fine flavour. It does not wilt readily, 

 and stands well after cutting. 



