

UMBELLIFER^E. XXXVII. APIUM. 



277 



ribs having one vhtse each, but the outer ones have 2-3 vittae ; 

 carpophore undivided. Seed gibbously convex, flattish in front, 

 Herbs, having the roots thickish at the neck. Stems furrowed, 

 branched. Leaves pinnate ; leaflets cuneiform, cut. Umbels 

 axillary on the branchlets, and nearly sessile at the top of the 

 stem. Involucra and involucels wanting. Flowers white or 

 greenish. 



SECT. I. EUA'PIUM (from eu, well, and opium, celery ; this sec- 

 tion is supposed to contain the true species of the genus). D. C. 

 prod. 4. p. 101. Point of petals closely involute. 



1 A. GRAVE'OLENS (Lin. spec. 379.) plant glabrous; leaves 

 pinnate : upper ones ternate ; leaflets cuneated, cut and toothed 

 at the apex. $ . H. Native nearly throughout the whole of 

 Europe, even to Caucasus, in ditches ; and also of Chili, near 

 Mendoza, and of the Falkland Islands. D'Urv. fl. mal. p. 457. 

 In Britain it is a common weed by the sides of ditches, 

 brooks of water, and marshy ground, especially towards the 

 sea. Smith, engl. bot. t. 1210. Schultes, syst. 6. p. 429. Hayn. 

 arz. gew. 7. t. 24. Fl. dan. t. 790. Plench, icon. t. 217. Seseli 

 graveolens, Scop. earn. no. 360. Sium A'pium, Roth, germ. 1. 

 p. 128. Slum graveolens, Vest. man. bot. p. 517. Celery is 

 known in Britain in its wild state under the name of smallage. 

 The seeds and whole plant in its native ditches are acrid and 

 dangerous, with a peculiar rank coarse taste and smell, and the 

 effects of cultivation in producing from it the mild sweet stalks 

 of celery are not a little remarkable ; for which, and its name, 

 we are indebted to the Italians, and which has now supplanted 

 our native Alexanders (Smyrnium Olusatruni). 



Use. The blanched leaf-stalks are used raw as a salad from 

 August till March ; they are also stewed, and put in soups. In 

 Italy the unblanched leaves are used for soups, and when neither 

 blanched nor the green leaves can be had, the seeds bruised form 

 a good substitute. The root only of the variety called the 

 celeriac, is used, and is excellent in soups, in which, whether 

 white or brown, slices of it are used as ingredients, and readily 

 impart their flavour. With the Germans it is also a common 

 salad, for which the roots are prepared by boiling, until a fork 

 will pass easily through them ; after they are boiled and become 

 cold, they are eaten with oil and vinegar. They are also some- 

 times served up at table, stewed with rich sauces. In all cases 

 before they are boiled, the coat and the fibres of the roots, w hich 

 are very strong, are cut away, and the root is put in cold water 

 on the fire, not in water previously boiling. The varieties afe 

 as follow : 



Par. ft, dulce (D. C. prod. 4. p. 101.) leaves erect; pe- 

 tioles very long; leaflets 5-lobed, serrated. A'pium dulce, 

 MilK diet. no. 5. A'pium Celleri, Gaertn. fruct. 1. t. 22. 

 Celery of the English ; celeri or ache of the French ; a?ppich of 

 the Germans ; and appio of the Italians. There are several 

 sorts of the common or sweet celery, viz. 1 Common upright 

 Italian. 2 Large hollow upright. 3 Solid stalked upright. 

 4 Large red stalked upright. 



Far. y, rapaceum (D. C. 1. c.) leaves spreading; petioles 

 short ; segments of leaves 5, serrated ; root roundish. A'pium 

 rapaceumj Mill. diet. no. 5. Celeriac of the English ; celeri- 

 rave of the French ; and knott-cellerie of the Germans. There 

 are 2 or 3 sorts of celeriac, viz. 1 Common celeriac or turnip- 

 rooted celery. 2 OHeri-rave of the French ; and 3 Knott- 

 cellerie of the Germans. This last is hardier than the other 

 kinds, and will continue longer in spring. It is grown to a large 

 size in tb.e neighbourhood of Hamburgh, and is sometimes im- 

 ported for the London market. 



Far. S, Lusitdnicum (D. C. 1. c.) radical leaves 3-lobed ; 

 cauline ones 5-lobed, crenated. A'pium Lusitanicum, Mill, 

 diet. no. 7. 



Estimate (if sorts The first three sorts of var. ft are prefer- 

 able for general culture. The red variety is rather coarse for 

 salads, but is hardy to stand the winter, and well adapted for 

 soups and stews. The sorts of var. y are cultivated for their 

 roots, under the name of celeriac, which are fit for use in Sep- 

 tember and October, and may be preserved in sand through the 

 winter. Celery may be grown to lOlbs. weight, and averaging 

 Clbs. each head. A head of celery, we are informed (Cal. mem. 

 vol. 2. p. 297.), was dug up on the 4th of October, 1815, at 

 Longford, near Manchester, which weighed 9lbs. when washed, 

 with the roots and leaves still attached to it, and measured 4 feet 

 6 inches in height. It was the red sort, perfectly solid, crisp, 

 and firm, and remarkably well flavoured. 



Propagation. All the sorts are raised from seed ; and half an 

 ounce is reckoned sufficient for a seed-bed 4 feet and a half 

 wide by 10 feet in length, of the upright sorts ; but for celeriac, 

 a quarter of an ounce will be enough for a bed 4 feet square. 



Soil. Celery delights in a soil rather moist, rich in vegetable 

 mould, but not rank from new unrotted dung. 



Times of sowing. The most forward crop is slightly forced, 

 Any of the varieties may be sown in the spring in the open gar- 

 den, at 2 or 3 different times, from the 21st of March until the 

 first week of May ; but the principal sowing should be made in 

 the first fortnight of April. 



Early crop. For early summer and autumn celery, sow a 

 small portion towards the end of February, in a moderate hot- 

 bed. When the young plants are about 2 inches high, put out 

 some into a warm border, 2 or 3 inches apart, or rather into a 

 second slight hot-bed, if before the 2 1 st of March, as well to 

 protect the plants, as to expedite their growth for final planting. 

 As soon as the leaves are C inches high, in May or June trans- 

 plant them into trenches for blanching, as directed below for the 

 main crops. But as these early sown plants will not continue 

 long in full growth before many of them will pipe or run, you 

 should plant only a moderate crop, for a temporary supply ; 

 when they are advanced in the trenches from 8 to 12 inches in 

 growth, begin to earth them up several inches on both sides of 

 each row ; continue earthing up by degrees as they rise higher, 

 till they are whitened from 6 to 12 inches in length ; when they 

 may be dug up as wanted. 



Main crop. To raise the main crops for summer, autumn, 

 and winter, make a considerable sowing at the commencement 

 of April. Sow in beds of light mellow earth, and rake in the 

 seed lightly and regularly. In very dry weather give moderate 

 waterings, both before and after the plants come up. When 

 they are 2-3 or 4 inches high, thin the seed-bed, and prick out a 

 quantity at successive times into intermediate beds, 3-4 inches 

 asunder. Water those removed, and till they have struck fresh 

 root. D. Judd sows about the middle of January in a warm 

 situation, on very rich ground, protecting it by mats at night. 

 When the plants are from 2-3 inches high, he pricks them out 

 into a nursery-bed, immersing the plants, as he draws them, in 

 water, so as they may remain moist while out of ground. The 

 plants remain in the nursery-bed until they become very strong. 

 John Walker, a gardener near Manchester, grows the red celery ; 

 sows for the early crop about the 1st of March, and for the late 

 crop about the 1st of April. " The seed-bed is formed of fresh 

 dark loamy soil, mixed with old rotten dung, half and half, -and 

 placed on a hot-bed. The nursery or transplanting bed is 

 formed with old hot-bed dung, very well broken, laid G or 7 

 inches thick, on a piece of ground which has lain some time un- 

 disturbed, or has been made hard by compression. The situa- 

 tion should be sunny. The plants are set 6 inches apart in the 

 dung, without soil, and covered with hand-glasses. They are 

 watered well when planted, and frequently afterwards. By 

 hardening the soil under the dung in which the plants are set, 



