34 CELERY. 



feeble, and the roots, few in number and 

 dwarfed in size, are unable to absorb from 

 the soil food sufficient for a vigorous 

 growth. It is as if we ruined the consti- 

 tution of a child and expected him to 

 develop into a healthy man. All the 

 efforts, therefore, of the gardener should 

 be directed to giving his plants a sound 

 organism during the first stages of its 

 growth. 



By leaving the hot-bed unsown for ten 

 days we gain an advantage beyond the 

 eradication of weeds, in such a settling of 

 the bed that when the seed is sown the 

 surface does not crack and become uneven. 



