131 



CELERY, CAULIFLOWER AND CABBAGE. 



On the question " What is the best manner of growing celery, cauliflower and cab- 

 bage, and which are the best and most protitable varieties f the following paper by Mr. 

 Peck was submitted :— 



CELERY. 



I have grown celery for my own use only, and am not in a position to give you 

 much information about raising it successfully. I select the best peice of sandy loam, and 

 make it rich with manure, (hog manure is best), and plow under deep, and make furrows 

 with plow four feet apart for the dwarf varieties, and wider for the tall varieties, say 

 five feet, and put the plants in the bottom of the furrows, six inches apart ; if the plants 

 are small they should be covered for a day or two, if hot and dry, then hoe and earth up 

 as they grow — about three times during the season. Care must be taken not to earth up 

 when the plants are wet, nor to cover the centre stalk, for if earthed up wet the stalks 

 will grow scurvy ; and if centre stalk is covered it is liable to rot and spoil the plant. 

 Care should be taken to keep the stalks of the plants, that is each plant, as closely to- 

 gether as possible. I have tried bleaching by putting a board on each side of the celery, 

 but the celery was tough and worthless. I don't think it necessary to treat of how to 

 grow young plants, as all seed catalogues contain all the necessary information. The 

 dwarf varieties are the best to my taste, and of these I have grown the Sandringham, 

 Boston Market, New Dwarf, French large ribbed, and Carter's Incomparable Dwarf, red. 

 I can't taste much difference between the white varieties — of the red varieties that I 

 have tried none are equal to the white in flavour. I grow the New Dwarf large ribbed 

 principally, and like it the best, as it has less and largei" stalks and little or no small side 

 shoots. I cannot say which are the most profitable varieties as I raise none for sale. 



CAULIFLOWER. 



The cultivation of the Cauliflower is the sanie as that of Cabbage, which I give be- 

 low ; and as to the best and most profitable varieties to raise, I have not succeeded in 

 raising any variety that was any profit in it, and have quit raising them. When I had 

 them for sale I could sell twenty-five heads of cabbage to one of them. 



CABBAGE. 



The plants for early must be raised under glass, either in hot-beds or green house, — 

 which is not necessary for me to treat of — I shall therefore give my method of raising 

 later plants ; where most people fail on account of the flea. Take a clean piece of mod- 

 erately rich land, level good with a garden rake, and sow the seed broadcast ; if a large 

 amount is required, then rake the seed vmder going backward, so as to leave the surface 

 level ; or, if preferred, it may be -sown in drills with a hand seeder, which is the best if 

 it can be had, as more of the seed will come, but care must be taken not to cover too 

 thick — about an ounce, if good seed, is enough for a square rod. Immediately after it 

 is sown sow common wood ashes (dry) by hand all over evenly, about a peck to the 

 square rod ; if any flies are there they will leave. Before the plants are up the sur- 

 face of the soil should be kept moist by sprinkling with a watering pot, if it be- 

 comes dry, until the plants are up — they will take care of themselves after that. I 

 have never failed to raise good plants in this way. The next thing, and most diflicult, 

 is to select a proper piece of land to set them in — low, flat, loamy ground is the 

 best, even should water stand on it until the first of June, it will not hurt or injure 

 it, as I have my best cabbages on the lowest land — that is late cabbage — the advan- 

 tages are on such land, (1) no grubs nor maggots to signify, (2), and most important, 

 the ground is always moist, For the earliest planting, land must be selected that 

 water does not stand on ; gravelly clay will grow the earliest cabbage, but will not do 

 as a rule for late planting, as it would be too dry. High sandy loam is not good for 



