September, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



223 



A Crop of Celery as Grown by John Williams, Peterboro, Ont. 



Mr- Williams is on© of the successful market girdeneis of Peterboro. Althougih his soil is a 



rich muck, he fertilizes it heaTlly. The celery is planted in double rows on the flat, no trench 



ee being dug. The soil is cultivated almost daily. 



specimens is mentioned neither more nor 

 less is wanted. Fraudulent exhibiting 

 sometimes occurs, such as showing stuff 

 not grown by the exhibitor or displaying 

 wrong varieties. The officers may not 

 detect every case but the offender will 

 suffer in the long run. With collections, 

 the allotment to a certain space or the 

 stipulation of a given number of varie- 

 ties would be preferable to the wide 

 range method at present In vogue. 



THE JUDGING. 



For the judging of the groups, cards 

 should be used. So many points should 

 be allowed for each vegetable, the ar- 

 rangement, effect, quality and naming. 

 This gives satisfaction all around. Sec- 

 retaries should forward the judges copies 

 of the prize list so that they may look up 

 the regulations, for no two are framed 

 alike. 



The services of up-to-date horticul- 

 turists should be obtained, men of experi- 

 ence from the experimental farms, prac- 

 tical market growers or professional 

 gardeners. Amateur horticulturists have 

 often been selected. A few are profic- 

 ient , others are quite incapable. 



With many, size and quantity is placed 

 before quality. Over grown beets, car- 

 rots or tomatoes are always coarse. Size 

 with quality combined counts with cel- 

 ery, onions, leeks, cauliflower, parsnips, 

 and muskmelons; it shows cultural 

 skill. In other clas.ses abnormally large 

 specimens are only secondary for table 

 or culinary purposes, in comparison with 

 typical medium ones. A few choice speci- 

 mens are worthy of more points than a 

 bushel of the poorer kind. The produc- 

 tion of the former requires skill ; the 

 latter can be grown with random meth- 

 ods. Fine blanched celery, specimen 

 onions and tomatoes can rarely be had 

 without judicious cultivation. 



Judges are slow to withhold prizes, 

 yet many exhibits are not worthy of the 

 judge's attention. When competition is 

 not keen and material poor, premiums 

 are better withheld. It will cause the 

 competitor to, exert himself a little more 

 although his temperature may run high 

 at such procedure. 



Celery Blanching 



Our markets demand a clean, white- 

 stalked celery. This is obtained by a 

 process called blanching or growing the 

 leaf stalks in darkness. This destroys 

 the color in the stalk and prevents any 

 more forming. It also makes the stalk 

 crisp and tender. If earth is used a 

 characteristic sweetness and nutty flavor 

 is obtained. 



Early celery is usually blanched with 

 boards, paper or something of that kind. 

 If earth is used before the cool weather 

 of fall it is likely to cause rust or decay 

 on the stalks, which of course destroys 

 their value. Late celery may be blanched 

 with' boards or with earth. Sound 

 hoards ten or twelve inches wide, one 

 inch thick, and twelve to sixteen feet long 

 are laid on each side of the row. They 

 may be cleated at the ends and centre 

 to prevent splitting or warping away 

 from the plants. Hooks are also used to 

 keep the upper edges close to the celery 

 stalks. Treated jn this way celery will 

 bleach in from one to three weeks, de- 

 pending on weather conditions. Warm, 

 moist weather will hasten blanching, 

 while cool weather will retard it. As 

 fast as the bleached celery is used the 

 boards may be put on other plants. Build- 

 ing paper, or even newspapers, may be 

 used if the season is not too wet. 



F.arth-blanched celery has a better flav- 

 or than board blanched. Where earth is 

 used, draw it up about half or two-thirds 

 of the way to the top of the plant when 



both plant and soil are dry. After a few 

 days more earth may be put around the 

 plant, leaving from four to six inches of 

 the top above the soil. This may be ac- 

 complished by a celery hiller or on a 

 small scale with a hoe. It is sometimes 

 an advantage to "handle" celery before 

 hilling, that is to draw the stalks close- 

 ly about the heart of the plant, holding 

 them in place either by tying or with .soil. 

 From ten to eighteen days are required 

 to bleach celery for use by this method. 

 Celery well protected by soil will not be 

 injured by quite severe frosts. Where 

 celery is to be stored for winter use, it 

 should be bleached but very little, if at 

 all, in the field. 



Soil Sterilization for Ginseng 



Prof. J E. Hewitt, O.A.C., Gaelph, Onl. 



In my addresses I have frequently 

 recommended the sterilization of soil 

 with steam or formalin, but have not 

 yet explained how the sterilization is 

 done. The formalin method is for most 

 growers the handiest and cheapest. 

 This is best done in the fall of the year. 

 Remove the roots from the beds and 

 throw the soil up loosely. The soil 

 should be dry when the sterilization is 

 done. The formalin is diluted in water. 

 If the soil is wet the solution should be 

 stronger about one part of formalin to 

 fifty parts of water. This solution should 

 be applied to the soil at about the rate 

 of one gallon to the square foot. Two 

 men can do this work best, one man 

 applying the solution with an ordinary 

 sprayer or watering can, the other man 

 spading over the soil as the solution is 

 applied. As soon as the soil can be 

 worked without puddling after treat- 

 ment, it should be thrown up loosely to 

 permit of the evaporation of the formal- 

 dehyde. Do not plant the bed for about 

 ten days after the treatment and before 

 planting is done the bed should be thor- 

 oughly spaded over several times. Where 

 live steam can be obtained, steam ster- 

 ilization is very satisfactory. 



The inverted pan method is most suit- 

 able for ginseng beds. The apparatus 

 consists of a galvanized iron pan about 

 four by ten feet and six inches deep. 

 This is inverted over the soil to be ster- 

 ilized, the steam being emitted through 

 a hose connected at one end of the pan. 

 The sharp edges are forced down into 

 the .soil to prevent the steam from escap- 

 ing. Fertilizers should be applied be- 

 fore the sterilization is done. The 

 steam should be kept at as high a pres- 

 sure as possible, eighty to one hundred 

 pounds, and the sterilization continued 

 from three-quarters of an hour to an 

 hour and a half, depending upon the 

 pressure maintained. This treatment 

 will destrov the spores of the various 

 fungi and the weed .seeds in the soil. 



