166 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



CELERY. 



There is no reason why the farmer 

 should not raise celery in his garden, 

 for since the introduction of the dwarf 

 varieties, there is no more time or work 

 required than is expended on the garden 

 crop of onions. The " Sandringham " 

 dwarf I esteem the best. If you 

 are not in the habit of making a 

 hot-bed, start your plants in the house 

 in March in a small box of light red 

 soil, such as you compost for house 

 plants. It is well to have a barrel 

 mixed in spring and kept in a shady 

 place to decompose, ready for your 

 house plants on removing them to win- 

 ter quarters from the garden. Select 

 place for your celery in garden, plant 

 two rows of early potatoes in drills, 

 rows four feet apart, after final hoeing 

 run a tiller between the rows, sprinkle 

 your fertilizer in the nhannel made by 

 the tiller and hoe it in ; it is better if 

 a rain intervenes before you set out 

 your plants ; the planting is better 

 done by two persons, one with a small 

 dibble six inches long, acting also for a 

 measure to distance plants six inches 

 apart, making the holes and dropping 

 in the plant. A person following with 

 water fills the holes. After all are set 

 out and the water soaked off*, fill the 

 hole with earth pressed slightly around 

 the plant. At this time, last of July 

 or first of August, the potato tops are 

 large enough to afford shade, the plants 

 need nothing more except to be kept 

 free of weeds till your potatoes are dug, 

 then hoe your celery and draw dirt to- 

 wards it on each side. To blanch easily 

 and rapidly go on your knees, astride 

 the row ; take a plant in one hand, 

 shake it and squeeze it close to get out 

 the earth from centre, holding in hand, 

 with the othei- draw the earth up to the 

 plant on that side, then take plant in 

 other hand and draw earth on other side, 



after which let go of the plant and 

 draw earth from both sides, pressing it 

 against the plant. After your row is 

 gone over and blanched, finish up with 

 a hoe ; two blanch ings is enough ; a 

 sprinkling of salt along the row has 

 been found to advantage at time of 

 blanching. To winter celery it should 

 remain out as long as safe in fall, but 

 should be dug when the soil is not wet. 

 It should be dug with a long handle 

 fork, a basket or barrowful at a time, 

 and placed at once where you intend 

 to winter it. I have tried sand, leaves, 

 etc., for storing, but have found it to 

 winter full better without either. Have 

 bins made three feet wide with wide 

 plank, with cellar floor for bottom. 

 Take up celery with as much earth as 

 possible and press the heads as closely 

 as possible in the bin. After your 

 plants are all in, place leaves at the 

 end you intend to use from, banking 

 up the celery on that side to exclude 

 air after taking out for use. If you 

 have been in the habit of buying you 

 will find nothing you can raise in a 

 garden would pay you better than your 

 crop of celery. The space occupied is 

 of little account, as you would plant 

 your rows of potatoes only one foot 

 closer than without. You can raise 

 30n heads, a fair home supply, easier 

 than in former times one hundred 

 of the Giant varieties could be raised 

 in ditches. 



W. M. P. 

 Clarenceville, Que., June 7th, 1883. 



FOUNTAIN PUMP— REPLY TO MR. 

 STHAUCHON. 



Mh. Editor, — In current month's 

 n\imber of Horticulturist there is an 

 enquiry by Geo. Strauchon as to a 

 good, cheap fountain pump for spraying 

 fruit trees. I have used for the last 

 two years the fountain pump manufac- 

 tured by Josiah A. Whitman, Provi- 

 dence, Rhode Island, and find it an 



