130 GARDENING FOR PROFIT. 



factory results, as Celery. Almost all private cultivators 

 still think it necessary to dig out trenches, from 6 to 12 

 inches deep, involving great labor and expense, and giv- 

 ing a very inferior crop to that planted on the level sur- 

 face, in the maimer practised on hundreds of acres by the 

 market gardeners in the vicinity of New York. 



Our manner of treating the Celery crop, of late years, 

 is very muck simplified. Instead of sowing the seed in a 

 hot-bed or cold frame, as formerly, it is sown in the open 

 ground as soon as the ground is fit to work in spring — 

 here about first week in April — on a level piece of rich 

 mellow soil, that has been specially prepared by thorough 

 pulverizing and mixing with short stable manure. The 

 bed being fined down by raking so that it is clear of stones 

 and all inequalities, lines are drawn out by the "marker" 

 8 or 9 inches apart, in beds of 8 rows in a bed, rubbing 

 out every 9th line for an alley, on which to walk when 

 weeding, etc. The seed should be sown rather thinly, 

 one ounce being sufficient for every 20 feet in length of 

 such a bed. After sowing, the bed should be rolled, or 

 patted down Avith a spade, which will give the seed suf- 

 ficient covering. 



As soon as the seeds of Celery begin to germinate, so 

 that the rows can be traced, hoe lightly between the rows, 

 and begin to pull out the weeds as soon as they can be 

 seen. One day's work, at the proper time, will be better 

 than a dozen after the seed bed gets enveloped with 

 weeds, besides ensuring much finer plants. 



As the plants advance in growth, the tops are shorn off, 

 generally twice before the time of setting out, so as to in- 



