189(5.] ESSAYS. 87 



will riprii i-arlicr and be of l)otter quality, and above all don't bo 

 foolish ;iud lliiiik you know more about ripening them than nature 

 does and go lo trinuning the vines. Who that has ever been into the 

 lields to pick blackberries does not know that the largest, blackest and 

 sweetest berries are found in the shade, or that the delicious strawber- 

 ry is ruined if exposed to the direct rays of the sun. What is true of 

 the fruits is equally true of the tomato, and the sweetest and best col- 

 ored ones will be found under the vines where the sun does not strike 

 them. Never set the plants in the shade, l)ut let the fruit have the 

 shade which nature provides for it in the plant. By cutting off the 

 vines and letting the sun shine directly on the green fruit it is sun- 

 burned and utterly ruined. As the season advances the vines are grad- 

 ually separated and flattened down, and the fruit is exposed, but, as 

 this is done gradually, it does not sun-burn, but is not of as good 

 color or quality as it is early in the season. For squashes the Summer 

 Crookneck, Marrow, Essex or Warren and Hubbard will make a suc- 

 cession from early summer until spring. 



Celery, which but a few years ago was a luxury to be had only by 

 the few, has come to be of almost daily use with the many in its 

 season, and should be found in every garden. It is grown as a second 

 crop, succeeding spinach, lettuce, or other early crops. The White 

 Plume and Paris Golden are the favorite early sorts, and the Giant 

 Pascal for late. If no sash are used to start the plants, buy some 

 from the seed-bed of your neighbor who has them, prepare a bed 

 of suitable size, and prick them out two and a half inches apart, from 

 the 1st to the 20th of May, according to whether they are wanted for 

 early or late use, or the ground be free of the early crops. The frame 

 for this l)ed may be of boards, as it is only necessary to have some- 

 thing to support the shutters or mats for shading, water freely, and 

 shade them for a few hours each day till they are well rooted. In 

 three or four weeks they will be ready for the field, where they should 

 1)e set whtn three or four inches high. When setting them in the field 

 draw a line, so as to have the rows perfectly straight; walk the line, 

 ami move it over for the next row (4^ or 5 feet) ; this will mark j'our 

 row ; then with a light iron-bar make the holes eight or ten inches apart 

 and five or six inches deep, fill the holes with water, and set your 

 plants, and they will all live, even if it don't rain for two weeks. This 

 rule Avill apply to setting all plants after the ground has become dry 

 enough to make watering necessary ; do this and avoid the hard work 

 and worse than useless expense of carrying water to the field to pour 

 on the foliage or about the plant where it will never reach the roots. 



