The Catiadian Horticulturist. 



41 



rect a very coninion error that some 

 new beginners are apt to fall into, 

 and that is this, that celery, being 

 naturall}- a watci' plant, yon cannot 

 give it too niiich. This is a great 

 mistake, for \ on can actnally drown 

 it out, kill it with kindness, " Drown 

 the Miller," as the Scotch folks say ; 

 for instance, the past season has been 

 exceptionably wet in Stormont Co., 

 tliere has been very little need of 

 artificial irrigation, in fact, the plants 

 have appeared to be at a standstill 

 for weeks at a time, the water from 

 the heavy rains sometimes filling the 

 ditches between the rows and induc- 

 ing rot among the plants. If my 

 garden had not been well drained I 

 would have lost a large numb:r of 

 heads ; even as it was my celery was 

 not so large as in former years when 

 there was an average rainfall. 



Having bored your readers thus 

 far, Mr. Editor, I will proceed to 

 show the modus operandi of start- 

 ing the seed and follow the plants 

 right up to harvest time. 



I always grow two kinds at least, 

 viz.,fall and winter celery. The White 

 Plume for fall, and Henderson's Pink, 

 or Sutton's Sulham Prize, for 

 winter use. The White Plume is of 

 beautiful appearance and is greatly 

 in demand on account of its earliness 

 and beauty. It will keep good u}) to 

 Christmas, but the pinks or reds are 

 superior to it in flavor and will keep 

 all winter. There is a new candidate 

 for public favor named Nelles' Self- 

 Blanching ; it has been grown by Mr. 

 John Croil, one of our directors, and 

 he pronounces it of e.xcellent tiavor. 



I sow the seed in boxes in the 

 house about the middle of March or 

 the first of April. A raisin box cut 

 down to about '^w^z inches deep is 



about the handiest size. I (usually 

 put some fine garden soil in the 

 cellar for the purpose in the frdl just 

 before the winter sets in. 1 then fill 

 the box with soil to within an inch of 

 the top, and if you are not careful at 

 this stage you will lose more than 

 half your seed, for celery seed being 

 very small, it is apt to get too deep 

 and either gets lost entirely, or comes 

 up so spindling and weak as to be 

 comparativel}- worthless. 



1 sift the soil for the upper part of 

 the box, compact it moderately and 

 see that it is even. Now sow the 

 seed in rows two inches apart, and 

 the rows half an inch wide, press the 

 seed lightly with a piece of board the 

 size of the box, then sift a very thin 

 sprinkling of soil over the seed. If 

 possible, I get a little moss ofT the 

 cordwood pile, dry it, and rub it fine 

 through the hands, and scatter a 

 thin layer on the top, then water with 

 a fine sprinkler and put it in a sunny 

 window. 



The seetl will be about ten days 

 or two weeks in germinating. It is 

 then necessary to watch and see that 

 the sun does not injure the young 

 shoots at this stage, as they are very 

 tender. If the sun is too strong, shade 

 them a little till they get stronger. 



When the second leaf appears, I 

 take the box antl put it into a moder- 

 ate hotbed, and, as the warm weather 

 conies, from there into a cold frame, 

 and gradually harden them off till 

 they will endure the weather without 

 any protection. When the plants 

 get about two inches high, prick them 

 out five or six inches apart into a 

 bed, or between the rows of beets, 

 carrots, or anywhere so that you can 

 cultivate them with a hanil-weeder, 

 or scratch among them with an old 



