1882.1 



AND H0R2ICULTURIST. 



Ill 



HOW I CROW CELERY. 



BY AUGUST D. MYLIUS, DETROIT, MICHIGAN. 



I think there are few localities better adapted 

 to celery culture than that around Detroit city. 

 The soil is well suited, being heavy and of a dark 

 sandy nature. Of course celery will do very 

 well in other soils, such as a light sandy one or 

 clay, if manured heavily. And, indeed, celery 

 gives good returns for manure, no matter what 

 the soil may be. Cow and hog manure are best; 

 fertilizers are of little use except on low lands. 

 I have raised the best of crops on new ground 

 of a dark, heavy nature without manure. The 

 time for sowing seeds with us is, one lot the first 

 week in April, the other the third week in the 

 month. The seeds are sown in rows, in beds, 

 and well patted down with the spade afterwards. 

 This makes the earth firm around the seeds and 

 is worth a dozen w-aterings. Planting is com- 

 menced about the middle of June and continued 

 until the middle of July. The first planted we 

 commence to earth up the end of August. This 

 is done three times ; the final banking up being 

 about the middle of September. Celery bleaches 

 best when boards are used, but the boards stop 

 the growth by confining the plants too much ; 

 hence such plants are not as large or as heavy as 

 earth bleached ones are. For winter use we dig 

 trenches a foot wide, standing the plants close 

 together and putting earth on the roots only. A 

 foot board covers the top and horse manure is 

 put on it little by little as the cold increases. 



YELLOWS ANDPEACH CULTURE. 



BY CHARLES BLACK, HIGHTSTOWN, N. J. 



Enough has been said about the character and 

 causes of this so-called disease of the peach by 

 experts. I do not propose to explain the origin 

 or character of it ; but give a few hints of practi- 

 cal experience of several years past. 



I do not intend to deny the existence of such 

 a disease as the yellows ; but think it is often 

 blamed for the distraction of our orchards, when 

 the real cause is something else that is within 

 our power to avert. I intend mentioning several 

 causes, the most important being starvation, 

 either from close setting or insufficient cultivar 

 tion when the trees are set, or very often from 

 both. 



Many of our orchardists appear to think the 

 more they get on an acre the more fruit they 

 will get. This is a serious mistake, for one 

 might as well expect ten head of cattle to live on 



one acre of pasture as long as one would. When 

 planted thickly they exhaust the natural ele- 

 ments of the soil and in a short time become 

 yellow, dwindle to nothing, then yellows is said 

 to be the cause. This is especially the case up 

 the Hudson. Some of our friends there set as 

 close as eight to ten feet, when they should not 

 be less than eighteen or twenty. At eight feet 

 they have sixty-four square feet to live on, at 

 twenty, four hundred square feet, and then to 

 help consume the needed food of the trees small 

 fruits are planted between them. In this half- 

 starved state is it any wonder that fungus, black 

 aphis, or any other foe has an easy prey? 

 The dead and dying are examined ; these foes 

 are found on them, and ascribed the real cause. 

 When thus diseased, I am satisfied that the 

 ofispring of such trees, either from seed or buds, 

 would be short lived and worthless and should 

 never be used, as it is the principal cause of dis- 

 eased trees seen occasionally in the best or- 

 chards. 



It is not only the richest soil that is best for 

 peach culture ; in fact sometimes on such they 

 will become diseased as soon as on poorer soil, 

 as they make too rapid and succulent growth. 

 They appear to get surfeited from too much 

 food or from improper elements of the soil. 

 The very best soils for peach are high, rolling 

 or hilly, with warm loam and clay sub-soil. 

 Peach trees will succeed in a great variety of 

 soils and situations; but are very sensitive to a 

 cold, retentive soil and should never be planted 

 largely on such. 



Another cause of failure is from planting trees 

 from any source they can be purchased the 

 cheapest. Every few years trees are in great de- 

 mand, at good prices. At these times around 

 nursery centres generally, and elsewhere, num- 

 berless small nurseries spring up, and the owners, 

 knowing nothing of the principle of the busi- 

 ness, and having no reputation at stake get 

 buds, seeds, etc., where they can get them the 

 cheapest, particularly the buds. They go to 

 those having orchards, and not knowing the va- 

 rieties, or a healthy tree from a diseased one, 

 procure buds for nothing and raise what ap- 

 pears to be a first-class tree. These trees are 

 generally bought by dealers, many of them 

 peddled around the country by agents ; badly 

 raised, badly packed, and in a half-dead 

 state they are delivered to the planter, and 

 if they live at all they never can make healthy 

 trees. Southern planters do not suffer from this 



