244 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, igo8 



placing our fruit on a special market, 

 but we prefer in ^all our work to ship 

 to a commission merchant, getting 

 rid of our fruit on a general market, for 

 in this we believe we can best studyi 

 average existing conditions. 



House No. I represents fairly well 

 what can be done by following the 



chrysanthemum crop with tomatoes. The 

 returns from this house were 67.85 cents 

 per square foot. 



It is advisable to run in a considerable 

 area to this crop rather than only one 

 bench or part of a bench in different 

 houses. We much prefer to give up an 

 entire house to the crop for in this way 



favorable conditions for its development 

 can best be obtained. It is wise, also, to 

 select the lightest house. Conditions 

 modify practice in all lines of horticul- 

 tural work ; therefore, whether florists 

 can work this business on a profitable 

 basis or not, along with floral crops, is a 

 matter for the individual to decide. 



Harvesting and Storing Celery 



J. 



LIFTING and storing celery for winter 

 is very necessary in our British 

 Columbia climate. Although not 

 so severe as that of Ontario, yet we have 

 at times quite sharp frosts which injure 

 celery for shipping and, as time is pre- 

 cious in the short days of fall, we must 

 try to get our crop harvested as speedily 

 as possible. 



I take a plow with one horse attach- 

 ment and run a furrow down one side 

 of the row and up the other, a trifle 

 deeper than the celery. It is then quite 

 an easy matter to cut the roots with a 

 long handled shovel and have just the 

 right amount of root on the plant. Then 

 pick up the plant with the left hand and 

 with the first finger of the right hand, 

 quickly strip off the outside stalks until 

 none but good sound stalks are left. 

 This is very important as, if soft stalks 

 are left, they soon begin to decay and 

 spoil the whole head. Be sure to trim 

 well. 



If in danger of frost, we sometimes 

 cache our crop. We lay it in straight 

 piles of say, four dozen in a pile and 

 throw a light covering of dirt over it. 

 It will take no harm for a week or two. 

 It is possible to get our crop out of dan- 

 ger by this plan very quickly. 



To store for winter keeping, take two 

 boards one foot wide and, say, sixteen 

 feet long. Place them parallel about 

 ten inches apart. Stand the celery up- 

 rigiit between these boards. Have two 

 or three lengths and when one is full, 

 shovel dirt against it, packing it down 

 nicely about eighteen inches thick until 

 you get to the top of the board. Then 

 draw up board and fill it up with dirt 

 until you get the bank higher than the 

 celery. Remove the boards and cover 

 with a light covering of marsh hay or 

 two narrow boards to keep the water 

 oil and to protect from slight frosts. 

 When severe frosts come, shovel the 

 dirt completely over the tops of the 

 boards, but this is unnecessary only in 

 very cold climates. In British Columbia 

 we find it necessary only to bank close 

 ip to the boards. By this method we 

 can keep celery in fine condition until 

 quite late in the spring and with very 

 little cost. The celery blanches perfect- 

 ly in these trenches. For late keeping, 

 it is best not to blanch too much before 



H. Copeland, Chilliwack, British Columbia 



storing. Try and store when dry for, 

 if stored wet, there is danger of rotting 

 in the trench. 



Practical Celery Culture 



W. J. Justice, Barrie, Ont. 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 part of my celery patch, which was 

 grown ready for market in sixty days 

 from planting out. The three bundles 

 which I hold in my hand, as shown by 



water forced through a small nozzle. 

 The tank shown in the distance gives 

 ample pressure and the work is done 

 very quickly and cleanly. Less water is 

 made use of than would be the case if a 

 brush was used to do the cleaning. 



About Strawberries 



E. S. Hendrj, Milton, N. S. 



Towards the end of May, 1907, I se- 

 lected a small plot of ground ten yards 



A Celery Patch That Was Ready For Market in Sixty Days 



the illustration, aggregated a weight of 

 three pounds four ounces. They were 

 not selected but taken as they came in 

 the row a«J washed and trim ned ready 

 for sale before weighing. This crop was 

 grown on ground occupied by a crop of 

 onions grown from Dutch sets. It was 

 done in the following manner : 



About two weeks before the onions 

 were ready for bunching, I fertilized the 

 spaces between every fourth and fifth 

 row, and thoroughly stirred it into the 

 soil with a narrow digging fork. I be- 

 gan planting the celery the first week in 

 July, using good, stocky plants about 

 four inches high. I always planted after 

 four o'clock in the afternoon, and wat- 

 ered well the same evening. As soon as 

 the onions were sold, all the ground be- 

 tween the rows of celery was dug, bury- 

 ing all weeds. 



In washing celery for market, I use 



square on which to grow strawberries. 

 The ground had been well enriched for 

 a garden the year before and received a 

 light dressing of stable manure at the 

 time of plaiting. The rows were laid 

 off two, feet apart and the plants set two 

 feet apart in the rows. Each plant was 

 allowed to put out two runners, the rest 

 being pinched off, thus leaving the 

 plants eight inches apart in the row. As 

 the ground was weedy it required fre- 

 quent cultivation in summer to keep the 

 plot clean. Late in the autumn, I covered 

 one-half of the patch with brush and left 

 the remainder unprotected. The only dif- 

 ference that I could see in the spring was 

 that those which were unprotected bloom- 

 ed and fruited a few days earlier than 

 the protected plants. The yield was 

 much the same in two cases. From the 

 whole plot I picked 150 quarts of choice 

 berries which paid well for the trouble. 



