146 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Amgust M, 1866. 



the Celery, therefore, did not suffer from the usual check of 

 removal at a later period of its growth ; the later plantings had 

 no protection at all save a little shading for a day or two. 

 The Melon and Cucumber-beds stood on a basement slightly 

 hollowed out of the surface of the ground, in order to have a 

 level bottom to build upon, and to keep the surrounding ground 

 clean and dry. Quantities of liquor, assisted by rains drained 

 from the beds in spring and summer, and were conducted in 

 underground channels to tanks sunk in the ground by the side 

 of the Celery trench, and the overflow from them was directed 

 into the trench itself. From these tanks the Celery was often 

 watered throughout the summer, and this was a great auxiliary 

 to the dung in the trench as a cool liquid manure, and saved 

 carrying so much water from a distance. 



The Celery was gradually earthed-up throughout the summer 

 and autumn as it grew. This process was not left until late in 

 the season, and the plants then earthed-up at twice or thrice 

 as is often done, the fine clean sandy soil offering no resist- 

 ance to its growth and swelling. It lay close and soft about 

 the heads, and the Celery consequently dug out clean and 

 perfectly blanched, and never suffered from slug and worms, 

 as is usual and almost unavoidable in heavy clay soils. It, 

 moreover, kept exceedingly well in winter, the soil from its 

 texture never becoming saturated with wet. It will thus be 

 seen that the manure the first season did service as a heating 

 material, the second it grew the Celery, and the third was 

 removed to the quarters much diminished in bulk. The Sea- 

 kale, Rhubarb, and Asparagus plots were also adjoining the 

 Melon-ground for convenience of the manure, and occupied 

 the same ground as long as the Celery did the trench. 



My father still grows Celery by deputy, but very far from the 

 old spot. Since then we have seen it grown in many ways, in 

 many different soils, in places widely distant. The largest 

 Celery we ever had a hand in growing, though not the best 

 flavoured, was grown on the moist west coast, in a soil 80 per 

 cent. peat. Plenty of pure cowdung not at all rotten was mixed 

 in the peat soil, and the Celery otherwise grown on the so- 

 called Scotch system. The loose dry peat was excellent for 

 earthing-up, and the operation could be done with the greatest 

 facility. Under this treatment we were convinced that any 

 variety whatever would become transformed into a " Giant," a 

 "Mammoth," "Champion," "Leviathan," "Defiance," or 

 " Nonsuch." It has never since been our fortune to have to 

 deal with soil so accommodating as the two kinds mentioned. 

 Alas ! a gardener has always something to learn or unlearn 

 with every change of place and circumstances. 



Among all the varied items of advice so liberally dealt to 

 young gardeners, we have never seen recommended the advan- 

 tage of serving part of his novitiate in gardens of which the 

 soils are of the most opposite nature. A gardener reared upon 

 a warm sandy soil would find his dates sadly wide of the mark 

 when coming to deal with a cold retentive clay. Celery on the 

 clay is a difficulty, especially in the earthing-up, aggravated if 

 the garden is new. In Lancashire I have seen it wrapped in 

 straw ropes before earthing, which met the end in view very 

 well, but was a tedious and untidy process. I have also seen 

 a drain-tile slipped down over each plant after the first or 

 second earthing, when the finer soil was used up, and nothing 

 but the stiff lumps of clay was available to finish the process ; 

 this is also a lame resource ; an improvement might be made 

 on it by having the tiles cut longitudinally, and bringing them 

 together round the stalks of the Celery. We have also seen 

 pieces of thin old turf placed round the Celery, but no sub- 

 stitute approaches the peat or the sandy loam. 



For some years we have had to deal with a stiff retentive 

 ;lay, but on the drier east coast still there is the difficulty of 

 rotting in winter to be overcome, as well as the mechanical 

 difficulty of earthing-up. We have tried various plans and 

 found single lines the best ; the ground is trenched if possible, 

 but always ridged high in winter. In spiing we throw out the 

 Celery ridges, 5 feet apart. These ridges are not more than 

 8 or 9 inches deep and 11 inches broad, which are filled up 

 with the rotten dung, and a sprinkling of the firm soil thrown 

 over it, so that when the Celery is planted out it is about level 

 with the surface. The Celery having been prepared by being 

 pricked out in rotten dung on a hard surface, is lifted and 

 drawn asunder with good balls. The roots are spread on the 

 surface of the dnng in the ridges, and finally covered over with 

 leaf mould, and well watered, and earthed-up in the usual 

 way ; but long before the final earthing the excavation between 

 the rows has become much deeper than the roots of the Celery, 

 and the ridge of soil has assumed a high sharp wedge-shape, 



tapering to a point, to shoot off the rain which the clay does 

 effectually, the only drawback being that the soil falls a good 

 deal after hard frosts. 



When we have grown Celery in deep ridges, either singly or 

 on the wide-ridge plan, we never found it grow kindly early 

 in the season, and it was always long in making a start, and 

 patches of plants would provokingly lag behind, causing a sad 

 bungle in the casting-up. We are satisfied this was caused by 

 the coldness of the clay bottom, communicated by the manure 

 in the trench. Since we have adopted the surface-planting, it 

 grows to perfection ; strong and equal, even though it might be 

 supposed to require more water, which it does not. It is re- 

 markable that we have had a considerable deal more Celery 

 " run " in cold wet seasons than in dry ones. Notwithstand- 

 ing the heat and drought of the last two years, we have scarcely 

 had a " run " head of Celery, and it has grown amazingly, 

 though not so liberally supplied with water as could have been 

 wished. We think that worms at the root of Celery, especially 

 that early planted, so as to encourage healthy, quick growth, 

 is the most effectual preventive of "running," and surface- 

 planting best secures that condition. We advise all whose soil 

 is cold or stiff to plant high ; the extra labour spent in autumn 

 on earthing-up is saved in busy spring. — (Scottish Gardener.) 



A USEFUL GARDEN CART. 



Among the numerous implements and machines in use in 

 gardens of considerable extent, there is none, perhaps, more in 

 request at the present season than a garden cart. Of this re- 

 quisite there are many forms, and yet few, if any, fully answer 

 the purpose for which they are intended ; but, that improve- 

 ment is not difficult, I think I shall be able to prove, by laying 

 before the readers of this Journal a drawing and description of 

 a cart which I have in use here. 



In the construction of a cart of this kind, due regard must 

 be paid to the width of the paths, doorways, and gates of the 

 establishment, and wheels arc entirely dispensed with, an iron 

 garden roller being substituted. To this roller shafts are at- 

 tached, having iron supports made fast by an iron spindle 

 passing through the centre of the roller, and kept in their 

 places by a nut screwed on each side, as at a. The body of the 

 cart is made fast to the shafts by a spindle passing through an 

 iron eye at the end of each shaft and corresponding eyes on 



the body, at 6. On each side, as at c, there is a fastening, 

 which admits of the body being tilted. It is necessary to 

 remark that the size of the body must be regulated according 

 to the size of the roller used, for if made too large it will be 

 liable to over-balance itself when loaded ; the diameter of the 

 roller in this instance is 1 foot 6 inches, carrying a body 2 feet 

 6 inches wide by 3 feet 6 inches long at the bottom, and 3 feet 

 6 inches wide, by 4 feet 6 inches in length nt the top. The 

 end, d, is made to take out, and by taking out the keys at c, the 

 body can be tilted, and so unloaded with ease. 



The qualities that recommend this cart are its simplicity of 

 construction and neatness, and from having a roller instead of 

 wheels it can be taken to any part of the garden or lawn with- 

 out doing damage. When the cart is not required, the body can 

 be easily taken off, and the rest used as an ordinary garden 

 roller. — Thomas Recokd, Gardener to Lieut.-Col. Loyd. 



LORD PALMERSTON PELARGONIUM. 

 As a pot plant this is one of the best with which I am ac- 

 quainted, and I can with the greatest confidence recommend it 

 to any one who has vases under cover to fill. For greenhouse 

 decoration, as a specimen, it is a telling plant, being dwarf in 

 habit, a very free bloomer, and having very large trusses of a 



