372 The Principles of Vegetable -Gardening 



may be thinned until they finally stand at 2 or 3 inches 

 apart. The labor of transplanting is so great that most 

 growers now prefer to secure stocky plants by the thin- 

 ning process and then by shearing off the remaining 

 plants when they become too tall. The plants may be 

 cut back a third or a half their growth by shears or 

 sickle, or on large beds by a scythe. 



Celery is grown as a short -season crop; that is, it 

 does not occupy the land during the whole of the grow- 

 ing season. The main crop is sometimes planted as a 

 succession, early cabbages or other spring crops having 

 been grown on the land. In the case of lowland celery 

 fields, however, the celery crop is commonly the only 

 one grown, since the land is usually too wet in the 

 spring to allow of any early planting. In some celery- 

 growing regions, two or three crops of celery are raised 

 on the land at the same time, the later or main crop 

 being planted between the rows of the early crop. The 

 main or late crop, which is used for winter consumption, 

 may be planted in the field as late as the middle or last 

 of July in the northern states. The early crop may be 

 set in the field as soon as the weather is settled in the 

 spring, but there is relatively little demand for very 

 early celery. The plants should be 4 or 5 inches high 

 and stocky and dark green when they are planted. 

 Plants are usually set from 6 to 12 inches apart in the 

 rows, and the distance between the rows varies with 

 the method of blanching. 



Celery must be crisp, tender and well blanched to be 

 fit for use. The blanching is accomplished by exclud- 

 ing the light. There are three common methods of 



