CELERY. 



99 



CELERY. 



trench ; fill in a foot of the strongest 

 manure, such as decomposed cow dung, 

 a"nd cover it over with 3 or 4 inches of 

 mould for planting in ; or if the ground is 

 very rich, half the quantity of manure. The 

 plants are then taken direct from the beds 

 and planted, root and head entire, not 

 trimmed a plan which ought to be dis- 

 continued in everything." 



Preparation of the Plants. In order to 

 avoid anything approaching a check to the 

 plants, they are taken up and eveiy root 

 and leaf carefully preserved, the bottom of 

 the larger outside leaves carefully examined, 

 and every bud and sucker carefully removed 

 with the point of the knife. Some cultiva- 

 tors go so far as to cut the beds in which 

 the plants are growing into square pieces, 

 and removing the whole mass with the 

 plant by introducing a trowel under it, and 

 planting it bodily in its new abode. 



Watering and Shading. Immediately 

 after planting, a copious watering should 

 be given. In its wild state, celery delights 

 in situations where it can receive an un- 

 limited supply of moisture ; and nature is 

 always an excellent guide where cultivation 

 is concerned. Celery trenches should, then, 

 throughout their growth receive abundant 

 supplies of water. When planted, the bed 

 or trench is usually a few inches below the 

 neighbouring soil. The trenches should 

 have some means of shading from the glare 

 of the noonday sun ; old lights, bushes of 

 firs, or other dense objects, for a few hours 

 every day, will suffice. Crops of peas are 

 sometimes grown between the rows to 

 afford the required shelter, and there can 

 be no more economical mode of supplying 

 it, provided the rows run from north to 

 south, and are sufficiently apart to admit of 

 it. 



Subsequent Treatment. The subsequent 

 treatment of celery is very simple. Re- 

 move all side shoots and weeds, stir the 

 earth frequently, and water whenever re- 



quired, occasionally with weak manure 

 water ; sometimes adding a little quicklime 

 to the water for the benefit of worms and 

 slugs. If the celery fly appears, a little 

 soot, applied dry or in water, and sprinkled 

 over the foliage, will be useful. After 

 these waterings, a thin covering of dry soil 

 thrown over the trench will check evapora- 

 tion. As the time for banking up ap- 

 proaches, it is the practice in some places 

 to tie the plants up with bast strings, partly 

 to keep the outer leaves in proper order, 

 but partly also to assist in the blanching 

 process. When lightly tied up at the top, 

 the centre is encouraged to rise and swell. 



Earthing-up Celery. With regard to 

 banking up or earthing-up celery, it has 

 been a question whether the operation 

 should be performed at once, or progres- 

 sively, putting it on a little at a time. Mr. 

 Judd, a very successful grower, in a report 

 on this subject made to the Horticultural 

 Society, points out " that it is not well to 

 load the plants with too much mould at 

 once ; the first two mouldings, therefore, 

 are done very sparingly, and with the com- 

 mon draw hoe, forming a ridge on each 

 side of the plants, and leaving them in a 

 hollow to receive the full benefit of the rain 

 and waterings. When they are strong 

 enough to bear water, the moulding is 

 better done with the spade, still keeping 

 the plants in a hollow, and continuing the 

 process through the autumn, gradually 

 diminishing the breadth at top till it is 

 drawn at last to as sharp a ridge as possible 

 to stand the winter." In order to prevent 

 the earth falling on part of the plants, Mr. 

 Judd took a long line made of bast, tied 

 the end round the first plant in a row, 

 twisted it round the second, and so round 

 each plant in succession, fastening it to the 

 last in the row. When the moulding was 

 finished, he removed the line. By this 

 means he contrived to earth up the plants 

 without injuring them in any way. 



