480 



THE GARDEN AND ITS ERUITS. 



[CUAT. V. 



tliem tender and palatable, are grown in a peculiar ■way, which blanches and 

 makes them crisjJ, tender, and jjleasant to the taste, heiug aromatic and 

 slightly pungent, sweet, and agreeable to all who are accustomed to eating 

 them. Tliere arc eevcral varieties in cultivation, some of the best of which 

 are named as follows : "White Solid, Seymour's Superb AVliite, Colo's Crystal 

 White, Cole's Superb Red, Dwarf White French, Incomparable ; this is a 

 dwarf sort, of a short, stiff, close habit, growing crisp, solid, and white, and 

 keeps juicy and perfect longer than some other sorts. Laing's Mammoth 

 Red is the largest sort, and is highly esteemed in England, biit not as much 

 60 here as Nonesuch, which is said to possess an excellent flavor, and keep 

 well in spring without seeding. Mead's Improved White is a new American 

 variety, getting into good repute. Celery-seed should be planted early in 

 spring, and covered shallow in rich, mellow soil, beating the eartli down com- 

 pactly over the seeds with the back of a spade. Wheu the plants are three 

 inches high, thin them out to four inches apart, and keep them clear of weeds 

 till six inches high, and then transplant into trenches about a foot deep, first 

 filling them half full of fine manure, well mixed with soil, and set the 

 plants six inches apart, first shortening roots and tops. As they increase in 

 size, draw in the sides of the trench, and continue to earth up, keeping the 

 stalks and leaves all drawn close together, so the tops only show a few inches 

 above the ridge. There is no better fertilizer than salt for this plant. 

 Sprinkle the ground each time before earthing up, and take care each time 

 to hold the stalks together, so that no dirt will fall into the center of the 

 bunch. An ounce of celery-seed will produce some five thousand plants. 

 Both in the plant-bed and in the trenches, celery will drink vip a great deal 

 of water or liquid manure. Some recommend keeping the jdants in tlie 

 trenches constantly saturated with water, tinctured witii guano, or strong 

 manure and salt. If kept constantly moist, the earthing-up process may bo 

 deferred till late in the fall. One says : 



" Late in autumn the whole bed is covered with forest leaves, a foot or 

 foot and a half tliick, with a few cornstalks to prevent their blowing away. 

 From this bed the celery may be readily obtained at any time, fresh, sweet. 



and 



1 cr 



isp 



durinc: tlio winter. 



Another covers the ridge with coarse manure, so it will not freeze ; and 

 another takes up the plants, and packs them in an upright position in a 

 trench three feet wide, and covers the ■wiiole with coarse manure. Tiiis is 

 only necessary where the jjlants are required in winter for market purposes. 

 For family use, a few can be kept in Avet moss, while the ground remains 

 frozen. As a general rule, we l)elieve the blacker the earth that celery is 

 grown in, the whiter will it blanch. Some ])ersons blanch with boards, set 

 up against the plants, covered wi^h charcoal-dust. A writer in the Garden- 

 ei-'s Chronicle, London, recommends the use of sawdust, M-hich he finds an- 

 swers the purpose better tlian any other material, especially for late crops 

 to be kept during the winter. lie says : 



" Having had some trouble in keeping late celery from rotting, where the 



