CELERY 81 



setting of the plants, gives great benefit, "equivalent to 

 a gain of $54.01 for every $1 invested in the nitrate of 

 soda." (Farmers 1 Bulletin No. 162.) The New Jersey 

 station recommends two equal dressings three or four 

 weeks apart. Or divide the four hundred pounds into 

 five or six doses in a rainy summer. 



Methods of blanching are chiefly four : 



(1 ) Blanching with Boards. This is the best 

 method for the summer crop, as earthing is likely to 

 cause rot in summer. Boards are of pine or hemlock, 

 spruce or cypress, one inch thick, one foot wide, twelve 

 feet or more long, dressed on both sides. These are 

 set against the rows of plants, leaning them slightly 

 inward; the boards are held in place by stakes, or by 

 securing the tops together by nailed cleats or bent wire. 

 Set the boards when the plants will show but a few 

 leaves above them. The plants shoot up for the light, 

 then fill the space between the boards, and exclude air 

 and moisture. Set boards only when the plants are 

 dry. Blanching will be completed in two weeks or 

 more. For this method, set the rows two to three feet 

 apart, plants, six inches or more in the rows. 



(2) Earthing. The best autumn method, giving 

 the best quality of Celery and protecting against frost. 

 Earth only when the plants are dry, and do not begin 

 until the hearts of the plants are four inches or more 

 above the ground, so that the stalks protect the center 

 of the plant from the earth. 



