CONTENTS 



Introduction ••-..... 1 



History and botany of the celery plant, 1; importance of 

 celery as a food plant, 2. 



Areas Adapted to Celery Culture ... 3 



Climatic requirements of the celery plant, 3; soils adapted 

 to celery culture, 4; marketing considerations, 5; labor 

 requirements, 6. \ 



Preparation of Land ...... 7 



Drainage, 7; treatment of new land, 8; breaking and pul- 

 verizing land, 9; fitting southern land for celery, 11; prep- 

 aration for planting, 13. 



Fertilizers . . . . . . . .16 



Natural fertility of soils, 16; chemical elements required 

 in fertilizers, 17; sources of nitrogen, 17; sources of phos- 

 phorus, 18; sources of potassium, 18; sources of calcium, 

 19; common salt as a fertilizer, 19; barnyard or stable 

 manure, 20; manure from fowls, 22; fish refuse, fish scrap, 

 fish guano, 22; Peruvian guanos, 23; night soil and sew- 

 age as fertilizers, 23; the application of fertilizers, 23; cost 

 of fertilizers for an acre, 25; time for applying fertilizers, 

 26; home mixing of fertilizers, 28; suggestive mixtures for 

 use on peat or muck soils, 29; mixtures for use on clay 

 and sandy soils, 29-31; table of fertilizer values, 32. 



The Production of Plants ..... 35 



Necessity of having good seed, 35; methods of sowing seed 

 for early plants, 36; starting plants in a window box, 36; 

 starting plants in a greenhouse or hotbed, 37; construction 

 and care of hotbeds, 38; temporary hotbeds, 38; permanent 

 hotbeds, 39; coverings for hotbeds, 40; ventilating and wa- 

 tering the hotbed, 41; construction, care, and uses of cold- 

 frames, 41; sterilization of soil for seed-bed, 42; starting 

 plants in the open ground, 43 ; care of the outdoor seed- 

 bed, 45; protection of plant beds, 45; transplanting, 47; 

 substitutes for transplanting, 49; proper time to plant 

 seed, 50. 



Planting in Field and Garden .... 52 



Lifting the plants, 52; packing celery plants for shipment, 

 53; setting in the open ground, 54; distances to plant, 56; 

 table of planting distances, 58; overcoming unfavorable con- 

 ditions at planting time, 59; mulching, 59. 



Cultivation . . . . . . - .61 



Frequency of cultivation, 61; tools adapted to celery cul- 

 tivation, 61. 



