September, 191 1 



THE CANADIA^N HORTICULTURIST 



217 



The Vegetable Garden of Mr. Justice where Two Crops of Celery are Grown 



Harvesting Vegetables* 



A. G. Wooly Dod, Calgary, Alta. 



ABOUT the beginning of September 

 the tops of onions should be 

 broken down with the foot. This 

 will assist the bulbs to ripen. In 

 about three weeks pull them and 

 place them in double rows, stalks 

 outward, and leave them to dry. 

 If the ground is dry they will not re- 

 quire turning, but if the ground is wet, 

 or there is any rain, it may be necessary 

 to turn them. On frosty nights a few 

 sacks should be thrown over them to 

 protect them from frost. These should 

 be removed in the daytime. 

 SORTING 



' As soon as the tops are dry sort out 



all those with thin necks and tie them in 

 bunches and hang them up in a cool, dry 

 place. If care is taken to bang up only 

 1 those with thin necks, they will keep 

 in good condition all winter. 



It will be found that there will be a 



I good many bulbs with big necks. These 

 should be cut off, and the onions laid 

 on a rack in heaps to dry a little longer, 

 and then stored on a dry floor, not too 

 thickly, or they will heat. These big- 

 necked ones will not keep very long, and 

 should be used as .soon as possible. If 

 stored in a cool, dry place, however, 

 they will keep for some time. 



PULLING CARROTS. 



Carrots can usually be pulled, but if 

 they arc very firm in the ground, it may 

 be necessary to loosen them up first with 

 a fork. Take as big a bunch as you can 

 hold in your hand and cut off the leaves 

 with a sharp knife close to the crown : if 

 you happen to cut the carrot in doing 

 this it will not do any harm, as it will 



I keep just as well. The roots may .low' 

 be piled in a cool, dry place, wherv, if 



•Extract from a paper read before tile Calgary 

 Horticultural Society. 



they are not too warm, they will keep 

 well into next summer. If kept in a too 

 hot or light a place they will sprout and 

 spoil. A little frost will not hurt them, 

 as they are better kept too cold than 

 too warm. 



Beets require handling with more care. 

 Cut off all the leaves, but do not trim 

 the roots. Be careful not to cut into the 

 crown, or they will bleed and become 

 soft. Store them in a cool, dry place, 

 but they must not be allowed to freeze 



Parsnips are about the hardest vege- 

 table to pull, as their roots go very deep. 

 I find a good plan is to dig a trench with 

 a spade as close to the crown as pos- 

 sible, and then bend them over towards 

 the trench. When pulling, wring with 

 both hands. Pull a good many at once, 

 and lay each one on the ground till you 

 have enough to collect in bunches. Then 

 take a bunch in one hand and cut the 

 leaves off in the same way as with the 

 carrots. The roots should be piled, and 

 covered with sand, or they will soon be- 

 come limp and useless. If preferred, 

 thev may be left in the ground all win- 

 ter, as no amount of frost will hurt them, 

 and they will be found in much better 

 (-ondition in the spring than those that 

 have been stored. 



I would not attempt to store 01 angary 



turnips, as they never keep well, but 



Swedes can be kept a long time in a 



cool place. These should have all the 



small roots trimmed off with a sharp 



knife, and the leaves removed. Clo.se 



trimming the roots will not damage 



;hem in the least, as they will not bleed 



like beets do. 



CELERY. 



Celery is better not trimmed at all. It 



should be stacked, heads and tails, and 



each row covered with sand, which will 

 keep it from wilting. These vegetables 

 should be stored before any danger of 

 severe frost, with the exception of the 

 parsnips, which, as stated, may be left 

 out all winter. If your corn and mar- 

 rows are all picked before they freeze, 

 the)' will keep several weeks in a cool 

 place. 



Growing Two Crops of Celery 



Mr. J. Jaitice, Barrie 



The process is very simple, and also 

 very profitable. The soil is well manured 

 with thoroughly rotted stable manure in 

 the fall, dug deeply and left rough. In 

 the spring it is well pulverized with a dig- 

 ging fork and nicely smoothed. This is 

 done just as soon as possible in the spring 

 and drills of spinach sown four feet 

 apart. I make the drills with an eight 

 inch hoe drawing it fiat so as to get as 

 wide a drill as possible. The seed is 

 scattered in this and raked in. This crop 

 is immense. 



Between the spinach rows I sow a lit- 

 tle fertilizer and work it in with a narrow 

 scuffler, going over the ground twice be- 

 fore setting out the celery, which isplant- 

 ed on the level, about the middle of May, 

 or later, oftener later than otherwise. 

 This crop is blanched by hilling up, and 

 is ready for market about the middle of 

 July. The trenches formed by hilling the 

 early celery are fertilized, prepared and 

 planted with late celery. I had some loss 

 this year by the celery running to seed, 

 but it does not often happen. I would 

 be very grateful if some one would tell 

 me how to prevent this. 



As soon as the spinach is cut the roots 

 and remnants are dug in and rotted be- 

 fore the earth is needed for hilling. 



Insects Not Injurious 



I am sending you a bug that has been 

 very numerous this summer. The Gnelph 

 insect experts call it Lady-bird Beetle and 

 say that it is a very harmless bug, feeding 

 on aphis . I find it extremely destructive, 

 feeding on plant life, sweet peafie and even 

 grass, and would like to know what to do 

 to prevent their destructive inroads. They 

 may feed on aphis, which is invisible, but 

 there are plenty which tbey do not destroy. 

 They even go way out to the ends of the 

 tendrils.— G. M C., St. Thomas, Ont. 



The insects in the envelope from your 

 subscriber at St. Thomas are specimens 

 of two conunon Ladybird Beetles of the 

 genus Cbccinella, namely, C. 9-notata 

 and C. trifasciata. These insects, of 

 course, were not in any way destructive 

 to the plants. They are extremely bene- 

 ficial . It is probable that plant lice were 

 present and were the cause of the in- 

 jury. Sweet peas this year have been 

 attacked in certain districts by the de- 

 structive pea aphis, and where this in- 

 sect has been present, Ladybird Beetles 

 have been numerous and have done ex- 

 cellent srvice in reducing the miinbers 

 of the aphids. — A. Gibson, Assistant 

 Entomologist, C. E. F.. Ottawa. 



