35 



The celery is set in tlie pit in rows 3 to 4 inches apart, and the plants 

 touching in the row. The plants are set about 3 inches deep in these 

 rows, and the dirt made firm enough on the roots to keep the celery 

 standing upright. 



If you wish to keep celery very late, into April or May, you must 

 give the plants more room in the pit, setting them at least 3 inches 

 apart each way, and be attentive to covering and ventilating. The 

 roof of the pit must be water tight, and supplied with ventilators 

 every 10 feet. The covering on the roof should be 8 inches of leaves 

 or strawy manure, or about 1 foot of salt hay. If there is a good 

 covering on the pit, it will be safe to give ventilation even on very cold 

 days. There should be thermometers in the pits to guide as to tem- 

 perature. The pits should be kept from sweating, and enough air 

 should be supplied to keep the celery tops dry. The temperature 

 should be kept as nearly at 32° F. as possible, if it is desired to keep 

 the celery late. With a pit well covered, an outside temperature of 

 20° and an inside temperature of 35°, some ventilation should be 

 given and the pit cooled down to 32° and kept dry. If a pit gets too 

 cold, a space large enough to set a cast-iron coal stove should be 

 cleared, a good coal fire built, and it will soon be warmed up. 



A pit which is to stand over winter needs to have a double-pitch roof, 

 7 feet high at the ridge, about 3 feet at the eaves, and should be well 

 banked on the ends and sides with loam. The width of the pit will be 

 about 23 feet when 12-foot boards are used on the roof. The ridge 

 should be a 2 by 6 inch plank, supported every 5 feet by a post ; the 

 purlines to support the roof boards may be of 2 by 6 to 3 by 4 inch 

 stuff, with a post every 5 feet. The sides of the pit may be of earth, 

 or of earth and plank. A walk 1 foot wide, from one end of the pit 

 to the other along the middle, nearly under the ridge, is convenient 

 and aids in getting a closer view of conditions inside the pit. The 

 ventilators are made by using two boards right over the posts support- 

 ing the ridge and purlines, and these ventilators are on each side of 

 the pit, and alternate. They may be thrown wide open or opened 

 just a few inches at the top, according to the weather. The celery is 

 removed by opening wide one of these ventilators near where the celery 

 is ready to come out. Celery pits need a great deal of attention to 

 ventilation, if you wish to keep the celery late. 



Marketing. 

 The earliest celery in the market is Paris Golden. Often by July 

 10 we find this celery coming on the market in fine shape. When 

 several roots are needed to make a bunch, they are fastened together 

 by nails through the root. Many times a single root is large enough for 

 a bunch. Eighteen bunches are packed in a bushel box. The Paris 

 Golden is a very handsome celery when well grown and well put up 

 for market. It has a strong flavor, is tough and will stand up well. It 



