46 CROP PRODUCTION 



Two other types of Lettuce are of value. The plants 

 of the Curly or Grand Rapids Lettuce do not form com- 

 pact heads, but have large leaves of value for salads and 

 garnishing. The Cos or Romaine Lettuce produces long 

 slender heads which are especially valuable for summer 

 use, as this type stands hot weather much better than 

 the others. It was formerly necessary to tie the leaves 

 together near the top to blanch them, but self-closing 

 sorts are now available. 



Celery 



Celery is a garden form of Wild Celery, a plant of the 

 large Parsley Family, called by botanists Apium graveo- 

 lens. The wild form is native to great regions in Europe 

 and Asia. The cultivated form has been in use for 

 hundreds of years, though it is only during the last half 

 century that it has become the universal favorite it now 

 is. Before that it was a winter vegetable, grown in 

 summer and carried into cellars in autumn to blanch 

 before being used. About 1885 two important self- 

 blanching sorts, White Plume and Golden Self-blanching, 

 were introduced; these were earher and easier to grow, 



