CELERY CULTURE 



CHAPTER I 



Introduction 



Very little is known regarding the early history 

 of celery, and its use as food is confined to compara- 

 tively recent years. The present product, so highly 

 esteemed as a table delicacy, is the result of selec- 

 tion and cultivation of the wild celery which is a 

 native of the marshes of southern England and 

 many places in Continental Europe. The Latin or 

 scientific name of celery is Apium graveolcns, and 

 it belongs to the Apiaceae, a family of plants form- 

 erly classed under Umhelliferae. In its natural state 

 celery is a biennial, producing its seed the second 

 season, but as commonly grown for food it is an 

 annual. If started too early, or allowed to remain 

 in the ground too long after it reaches a marketable 

 stage, it will produce seed the first season. The 

 parts of the celery plant used for food are the thick- 

 ened leaf-stems and the fleshy root, the true stem 

 being that upon which the flowers and seed are 

 borne. The seeds of the celery are very small, an 

 ounce containing from 60,000 to 70,000, and are 

 borne in great numbers in umbels or clusters. In 

 the wild state celery has an acrid, pungent flavor, 



1 



