214 CROP GROWING AND CROP FEEDING 



METHODS OF CULTURE. 



There are two general methods of cultivating celery. The first is that 

 described by the late Peter Henderson, in his "Gardening for Profit." The 

 publication of this book was the first intimation to many that the old practice 

 of digging a deep trench in which to set the celery was no longer the practice 

 of the men who had to make profit out of the crop. In getting the plants 

 Mr. Henderson advised to sow the seeds in rows on a well prepared bed nine 

 inches apart, then to tramp the rows with the foot, and cover half an inch by 

 drawing the back of the rake lightly over the bed. This is to be done early 

 in April in the latitude of New York. In our experience we have not suc- 

 ceeded well with this plan. We have made the following modification. We 

 sow about the last of April on a well fined bed of light and rich soil. Line? 

 are drawn about ten inches apart across the bed, and not over quarter of an 

 inch deep. We then sow the seed thinly in these marks, and beat down the 

 surface of the bed with the back of the spade. Then at once we cover the 

 whole bed with a layer of gunny cloth, such as grain sacks are made of. 

 This prevents the drying of the surface, and the seed germinates much more 

 readily. As soon as they are seen sprouting, the cloth is raised off them and 

 suspended on stakes so as to still shade the bed somewhat, and as the plants 

 advance in growth and form their green leaves the cover is entirely removed. 

 This sowing can best be done in an unused cold frame, after the sashes are 

 stored away, as the cloth can easily be stretched over the bed. Having the 

 plants in such a frame there is the further advantage that we can give them 

 the varying shade of a lath screen during the hot weather. As soon as the 

 plants are large enough to handle they are lifted and transplanted in the 

 frame at about two inches apart each way, and the tap roots are shortened. 

 We then make screens of building laths, tacked on a frame the size of the 

 ordinary hotbed sash, about one inch apart, and place these over the bed. 

 This gives an ever varying shade and sunshine, and prevents the rapid drying 

 out of the soil after watering. Constant and regular watering is essential 

 to success with the plants, and as they grow it is well to clip the tops at 

 intervals, so as to make the plants stout and strong for their final transplan- 

 ing. In the North, this will be for the fall and winter crop, from the middle 

 of June to the end of July, and from Virginia southward, from the middle of 

 August to the last of September. The first week in September is usually 

 early enough in most Southern sections. In the far South, where success 

 can be had in getting the seed started in August, good plants can be had for 

 late planting to supply the demand for spring celery. But of late years, the 

 Kalamazoo growers have made a specialty of growing late plants for Southern 



