888 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



frequently between the rows, especially in dry, hot weather. The 

 ground will thus be kept well aerated, and at the same time the 

 hoe will help to hold weeds in check. 



Carrots that are growing strongly on clean, well-tilled soil are 

 perhaps more immune from the attacks of insect pests than any 

 other vegetable crop. Greenfly, however, may make its appear- 

 ance, and when this happens it is a good plan to dust the plants 

 occasionally with a mixture of nitrate of soda and lime. While 

 keeping the pest in check the application of this mixture will at 

 the same time provide a valuable stimulant to the growing plants. 



CELERY. It is a comparatively easy matter to grow celery well, 

 and yet how rarely does one find the plant produced hi perfection 

 in the kitchen gardens of amateurs who do not rely at all on pro- 

 fessional assistance. The chief reason for frequent failure is, I 

 think, that not sufficient attention is paid to the preparation of the 

 soil. A point to bear also hi mind is that celery is a semi-aquatic, 

 and that the plants must be kept moist at all stages of their de- 

 velopment. 



The seed may be sown at any time from January to April. This 

 will depend on whether the celery is required early or late, but 

 the principal sowing ought to be made about the middle of March. 

 The seed is sown in boxes of light, rich soil, and started into 

 growth either on a gentle hotbed hi a frame or in the warm green- 

 house. As the seedlings progress they are pricked off into other 

 boxes and gradually hardened hi a cold frame until the time comes 

 for planting them hi a prepared bed out of doors. This will take us 

 to the early part of June, and the plants may be left to develop 

 until the time comes for putting them in the trenches in July. 



The preparation of the trenches requires great care, for upon 

 the attention to detail that is observed hi this branch of the work 

 a good deal of the future success of the plants will depend. The 

 trenches should be dug to a depth of a foot or so, and be about 

 fifteen inches wide if for a single row of plants, and twenty-four 

 inches if for a double row. It is, of course, essential that plenty 

 of rich manure should be used in the preparation of the trenches, 

 but the mistake that is often made of dumping a thick layer at the 



