1408 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



inches below the flower, and some of the leaves are taken with the head. 

 The leaves are then trimmed so that their tops are at the widest part of 

 the flower, making a pretty vegetable with a pure white, coral-like 

 center and a fringe of light green around the outside. 



Early varieties are Early Snowball and Erfurt ; later varieties are Dwarf 

 Danish and Autumn Giant. Snowball can be used for all purposes, and 

 is the variety most widely grown. 



Celery 



Celery seed is so exceedingly small that it should not be planted very 

 deep; one fourth of an inch or less is the best depth. Early celery is 

 strictly a hotbed crop, being transplanted later to cold-frames and then 

 to the field. It should be given the best of cultivation, and quantities 

 of high-grade fertilizer or manure should be applied to the soil. Celery 

 requires a large amount of water for its best development, and should 

 never be subjected to drought. Later celery is planted in the seed bed 

 and transplanted once. The same conditions are provided for late as for 

 early celery up to the time of blanching. At blanching time early celery 

 has a covering of boards at each side, which may be 8 to 12 inches high. 

 Dirt, paper, or any material that will shut out sunlight so that the stalks 

 will blanch, may be used instead of boards. The tops of the boards or 

 the dirt should be as near together as possible, so that the plants will 

 become whitish. With late celery the common practice is dirt-blanch- 

 ing, making the dirt covering higher as the plant grows. 



In harvesting celery, the best method is to run a knife an inch or two 

 under the ground and cut the root. The root is then trimmed further 

 and the outside course of leaves is removed from the celery. Late celery 

 is generally taken up with its roots attached, and stored. 



Celery may be stored in the field or in the home garden, or the bottom 

 of the hotbeds may be used for storage; the roots being buried in sand 

 and the plants standing close together. Ventilation must be given, as 

 well as freedom from outside moisture and cold. Celery stored by proper 

 methods in empty hotbeds can be kept throughout the coldest winter. 



The variety of celery recommended for early plants is Golden Self- 

 Blanching, which seems to outrank all others. For winter, also, Golden 

 Self-Blanching is used to a large extent, and Boston Market, Winter 

 Queen, and Giant Pascal are highly recommended. Winter Queen is 

 a celery that blanches out to a very beautiful color and has a noticeably 

 nutty, crisp quality. 



Corn, sweet 



Sweet corn should be planted on fairly rich land; a good loamy soil 

 will give satisfaction. Plant the seed in rows 18 to 42 inches apart, five 



