CELEKY 121 



weeks the healthly seedlings will be ready to 

 transplant. 



Young celery plants are, at best, so frail that 

 they should be transplanted once or twice before 

 they are set permanently. To save time, when large 

 quantities are grown, some gardeners merely thin 

 the plants in the seed-bed, setting them when first 

 transplanted where they are to mature. This plan 

 may be necessary when time and help are more 

 valuable than are the plants; but it is a poor 

 policy in the home garden. The celery seedling 

 has naturally a slender tap-root. The first trans- 

 planting breaks this sole root and starts a fresh 

 growth of root fibers. Each handling increases 

 the root growth until, finally, the plant has a 

 large mass of fibrous root to furnish sustenance. 

 When thinning is practiced, the weakest plants 

 are pulled and those intended for production of 

 the celery crop are left in the seed-bed until time 

 for setting. During that time, the tap-root keeps 

 growing long and remains simply a single root. 

 When the plants are finally removed to the per- 

 manent row and these single roots are broken, 

 the shock is too great for the delicate plants and 

 many of them die. At best, they recover slowly. 

 The twice handled plants with their stocky root 

 growth make quick recovery on setting and pro- 

 duce by far the best results. 



When an inch or two high and large enough to 

 get hold of easily, the celery seedlings are ready 



