LESSONS FROM THE WINNERS 257 



Perhaps there is no vegetable that is more often 

 exhibited and wrongly judged than celery. Celery, to 

 be good for the table or market, should have a head 

 as much as lettuce or cabbage, and to get this head it 

 is necessary to sacrifice the older leaves ; in fact, as you 

 bring the head to perfection you lose all of the outer 

 leaves, but the same is true of lettuce or cabbage. 

 Bunches of what I call *' celery leaves " may occasion- 

 ally be picked from among heads of good celery, but 

 the methods of growing the two are entirely different. 



To grow the bunch of celery leaves, the plants 

 must have considerable room and a long season of 

 growth. They may grow quite rapidly at first, but 

 should continue growing less and less as they near 

 maturity, because a sudden start will cause the heart 

 to develop, the outer leaves to soften, and a head will 

 then begin to form. I have seen them and have raised 

 some, but do not try to grow them now, as they are 

 not wanted in the markets. In growing the heads of 

 celery, the method early in the season makes but little 

 difference except in regard to the size of the head. If 

 you would have a shouldered head of nice proportions, 

 and not too tall, the plants must be set ten or more 

 inches apart ; but if you want nice celery for family 

 use or market, from four to six inches should give a 

 more satisfactory crop. To get celery of the best qual- 

 ity it must be grown rapdly, and it is quite important 

 that it should take an extra start when we begin to 

 blanch it. 



Celery that is banked with earth gets this start 

 from the cutting of the roots and the chance that those 

 roots which are left get to work up into the soft earth 

 of the bank. Perhaps the best way to start golden 

 celery that is to be boarded is to give a good watering 

 and work the ground about the time the boards are set 

 up. This gives celery of fair quality, but no method 



