CEL 



CEN 



tivated with ease in the United States 

 as an ornamont. 



CEDAR, RED. The Jiinipenis Vir- 

 giniana is so called ; it is found on 

 the sea-coast from Manie to the Gulf 

 of Mexico ; attaininj^, in the South, 

 40 feet, but is small inland. It is ev- 

 ergreen and ornamental. The wood 

 is very durable, light, and odorous, 

 red in colour, but scarce in quantity : 

 the best is from Florida. 



CELERY. The improved small- 

 age, C)r Apium pravcolens. Several 

 varieties are cultivated ; the lohite 

 solid is the best for the table, the red 

 solid for cooking ; North's giant, new 

 white, lion's paw, and cclcriac {A. ra- 

 paceum) are also raised ; the last pro- 

 duces a root like the turnip, which is 

 sliced, and eaten with vinegar. Ear- 

 ly celery may be raised from seeds 

 60wn in a cold bed, like cabbages. 

 The general crop is sown in March 

 or April, in a rich border, protected 

 from great heat. The drill is the best, 

 run six inches apart. Transplant, 

 when three inches high, into rich 

 soil, and after a month into trench- 

 es dug one spade deep, ten inches 

 ■wide, and four feet apart. Place at 

 the bottom of each trench three inch- 

 es of rotten dung, and mix it well 

 with the soil ; leave the earth taken 

 out piled up between the trenches, to 

 be afterward fdled in as the plants 

 grow. Trim the roots and side leaves 

 of the celery before setting in the 

 trench, and place them four to six 

 inches apart. Sometimes two or 

 more rows are planted in one wide 

 trench. As the plants grow in the 

 trenches, hoe them, and when well 

 grown to one foot high begin to earth 

 in ; this must be done wlien the soil 

 is dry. Place a board against the 

 plants, and throw in soil enough to 

 reach nearly to the central liud ; do 

 this on each side and along the row. 

 Earth up every two weeks, as the 

 celery grows, taking care to collect 

 together the leaves each time. When 

 blanched for thirty inches it is fit for 

 Use. Late winter celery may be put 

 in trenches in August, and earthed in 

 October. Market gardeners plough 

 out their trenches, increasing t he dis- 

 142 



tance between them. One ounce of 

 seed yields upward of ten thousand 

 plants. The winter store is kept in 

 sand, and covered with straw ; sud- 

 den tiiawing destroys the celery. If 

 the whole root is taken up uncut, 

 the stump, after cutting off the head, 

 will again sprout in a warm cellar, 

 and yield a second supply of small, 

 but very sweet and tender celery. 

 Seeds are readily obtained by leaving 

 a few plants in the seed-bed, which 

 will flower in July, and bear an abun- 

 dance of seeds in umbels. 



CELL. In pliysiology, the mi- 

 nute cavities in plants and mem- 

 branes : the size ditlers from the one 

 thousandth to the one hundredth of 

 an inch. It may contain air, or fluids 

 and solids. I'he cell is the first struc- 

 ture of all membranes, but subse- 

 quently it may be converted into a 

 tube. They are originally spherical, 

 but become changed by pressure into 

 cubes, dodecahedrons, and other fig- 

 ures. 



CELLULAR TISSUE. The mem- 

 brane or tissue in plants and ani- 

 mals which consists of cells contain- 

 ing gas chiefly, as the pith. It exists 

 between all muscles, and under the 

 skin in animals. 



CEMENT. A Mortar, which see. 



CE.MENTATION. A process of 

 making steel, by surrounding plates 

 of iron with charcoal powder and 

 heating to a high point. 



CENTIGRADE. A division into 

 one hundredths, as the centigrade 

 thermometer. 



CENTIPEDE. Creeping, wing- 

 less insects with many feet : they at- 

 tack the dead roots of^ plants. 



CENTRE OF GRAVITY. An 

 imaginary point in the centre of any 

 mass which has the same weight ot 

 matter arranged on at least two sides. 

 AV'hen any substance is balanced on 

 a i!oint, as the finger, the centre of 

 gravity lies immediately above that 

 point. In falling to the earth, all sub- 

 stances take such a path that the 

 centre of gravity descends in a 

 straight line. No object can remain 

 firm except a line drawn from the 

 centre of gravity to the earth fall 



