376 THE AMERICAN FARMER 



apart in the row. The trenches or drills should be three feet apart. Draw the earth around 

 the plants as they advance in growth, but leave the hearts or center of the tops uncovered 

 until the final soiling, care being used not to get the soil into this center of the plant. This 

 earthing should be done when the plants are dry. Celery being a saline plant, an occasional 

 application of salt will improve its quality. The soil should be kept loose around the plants 

 durino- the season of growth, and liquid manure frequently applied. From the middle of 

 August to the middle of September is the most favorable time for the growth of celery, the 

 days being warm and the nights cool, with a considerable gathering of dew. A moderate or 

 light frost will not injure celery, but whenever a heavy, killing frost is anticipated, it should 

 be cared for; it is best, however, to leave it out as long as possible with safety. 



There are several varieties of the celery plant, some of the principal being the GOLDEN 

 HEART, DREER S IMPROVED WHITE, BOSTON MARKET, GIANT WHITE, MAMMOTH RED, etc. 



Blanching Celery. About four or five weeks before celery is wanted for table use, 

 the stalks should be blanched by covering with soil so as entirely to exclude the light. This 

 operation consists in banking up the plants with earth on each side nearly or quite to the tops, 



CELERY PLANTS BANKED UP. 



as shown in the accompanying cut. Market gardeners usually blanch a large portion of their 

 celery in this manner early in the season for early sales. When celery is to be sent to mar 

 ket late in the fall or early in the winter, it is generally stored in trenches. 



Wintering Celery. An authentic agricultural writer gives the following methods of 

 storing celery for winter and spring use: &quot;Market gardeners sometimes leave the celery 

 where it grew, banking it up to the tops with earth, and at the approach of severe weather, 

 covering with leaves. There is the risk of being unable to get out the celery when wanted, 

 when left thus; hence the crop for use in late winter is stored in trenches, where it is acces 

 sible at any time. The trenches must be where water will not settle in them, and should not 

 be over ten inches wide, the depth being equal to the height of the plants. The celery is 

 placed upright, the plants being close together, but no earth is put between them. The tops 

 are to be covered with leaves, straw, or coarse hay, but not until the weather is likely to be 

 severe, though the covering material should be at hand to be ready in an emergency. 



To avoid injury from heating, the packing in trenches is delayed as long as it is safe to 

 do so. But the plants in the rows are protected by roughly earthing them up to the tops 

 three or four weeks previous. The tops will not be injured if the thermometer falls five or 

 six degrees below freezing, and the covering may be slight at first, to be increased as the 

 cold is more severe, until finally it is six or eight inches thick. Boxes may be used for storing 

 celery in the cellar. This is a neat and ready way, but not practicable in a warm cellar. 

 Instead of boxes, boards may be used. A row of boarding is placed nine inches from the 

 cellar wall, and as high as the tops of the celery; this is to be filled with the upright stalks 

 as if it were a trench. At nine inches from this two more rows of boarding are set up; also 



