46 THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES 



a late supply consists in bending the tops on one side at the final 

 earthing, which prevents the trickling of water into the heart of the 

 plant during heavy rain or snow. 



The many enemies of Celery, such as slugs, snails, the mole- 

 cricket, and the maggot, are not of much account where good 

 cultivation prevails, but the Celery fly appears to be indifferent to 

 good cultivation, and therefore must be directly dealt with. An 

 occasional careful dusting of the leaves with soot has been found to 

 operate beneficially. It should be done during the month of June on 

 the mornings of days that promise to be sunny. If the soot is put 

 on carelessly it will do more harm than good ; a very fine dusting 

 will suffice to render the plant distasteful to the fly. Where the eggs 

 are lodged the leaves will soon appear blistered, and the maggot 

 within must be crushed by pinching the blister between the thumb 

 and finger. Leaves that are much blistered should be removed and 

 burned, but to rob the plants of many of their leaves, or even parts 

 of leaves, will seriously reduce their vigour of growth. 



CELERTAC, or TURNIP-ROOTED CELERY, is much prized on the 

 Continent as a cooked table vegetable, and as a salad. In common 

 Celery the stem forms a mere basis to the leaves, but in Celeriac 

 it is developed into a knob weighing from one to five pounds. This 

 is more easily preserved than Celery, and that is one reason of its 

 popularity on the Continent, more especially in Germany, where the 

 winter frost soon makes an end of the more succulent plant that is 

 preferred in this country. Celery cooked in the way of Sea Kale is 

 well known as a delicacy at English tables, and the cooked Celeriac 

 ranks equal in importance with it, though quite a different dish. 

 The stem or axis of the plant is used, and not the stalks. To 

 grow fine Celeriac, a long season is requisite ; and therefore it is 

 advisable to sow the seed in a gentle heat early in March, and after- 

 wards prick out and treat as Celery ; but after the first stage the 

 treatment is altogether different. For the plantation a light and rich 

 soil is required, and for a small crop it can easily be made so where 

 the staple is heavy, because six inches depth of any sandy soil spread 

 over the common soil will be sufficient. The plants must be put out 

 on the level a foot and a half apart each way, and be planted as 

 shallow as possible. Before planting, trim them carefully to remove 

 lateral shoots that might divide the stems, and after planting water 

 freely. The cultivation will consist in keeping the crop clean, and 

 frequently removing the soil away from the plants, for the more 

 they stand out of the ground the better, provided they are not 



