148 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



June, 1907 



plant on a cloudy day or immediately 

 after a rain. Make the roots firm. 



Use the scuffler every week or ten days. 

 After the plants begin to grow nicely, 

 it is wise to use the potato moulders, as it 

 will prevent the plants being blown 

 around by the wind. 



When the heads show about two or 

 three inches across, they should be tied 

 to prevent discoloring. Many use 



bunching string for this. A hoop made 

 of bale wire with a hook at each end is 

 very handy for the purpose. 



There is always a lot of pMnts that 

 will not head-in during the season. 

 These should be stripped of their bottom 

 leaves and planted closely in a roothouse 

 or cool cellar. A large majority will then 

 produce nice cauliflowers. 



Transplanting Tomatoes 



A.n^us Mclnnis, London. Ont 



WHIJN tomato seedlings are four 

 or five weeks old from the time of 

 sowing the seed, I transplant them 

 about three inches apart each way. 

 Then, when they begin to crowd, I trans- 

 plant a second time, giving them as 

 much space as I can, from five to eight 

 inches. This is done with early plants 

 but appUes equally as well to the later 

 crop, in which case one transplanting is 

 sufficient. Have the bed to which they 

 are transplanted just rich enough to 

 support the plant, as soil that is overly 

 rich induces too fast a growth, making 

 the plants soft and retarding their growth 

 when they are again put into poorer soil. 



When planting in the field put lots 

 of manure on the land, especially if it is 

 poor, and spread it as evenly as possible. 

 A good way to accomplish this is to go 

 over it with a disc harrow two or three 

 times, which cuts the manure very fine, 

 then plow the ground. This must be 

 done as early as possible. Then work 

 the land every week with disc or culti- 

 vator; no more plowing is needed after 

 the first one. The last cultivating 

 should be done a few days or a week 

 before planting. It is a great benefit to 

 the crop to use 40 or 100 pounds of potash 

 an acre. 



Give the plant bed a good watering 

 the day before planting and also on the 

 day you take up the plants. In the 

 field we take a Une that reaches from 

 one end to the other. We use a light 

 marker about three feet long with a 

 tooth at each end, marking along the 

 line, while on the opposite side a man 

 digs a hole at the point indicated. We 

 would rather set out the plants before 

 blooming, as we think the digging injures 

 them more then. 



At the plant bed there is a man to 

 take up the plants with a good strong 

 trowel. A nice lump of earth is left on 

 each one, and they are placed in flats 

 or boxes that hold about 15 or 20 plants. 

 They are loaded into a waggon, and 

 taken to the field. We drive along the 

 line and a man or boy hands the plants 

 out. We always give a light watering 

 when planting. 



The rows are eight feet apart, and 

 three feet from plant to plant. We Hke 

 this method much better than the square 



planting, as the same number of plants 

 an acre gives us more room than the 

 latter way. When plants do their best 

 they soon cover the ground, and when it 

 is thickly covered with vines the sun 

 does not shine on it and thus keeps the 

 earth cool in square planting. In plant- 

 ing three by eight feet we can cultivate 

 much longer, keep our ground cleaner, 

 and the sunshine heating the earth causes 

 the tomatoes to ripen much better. 

 We can also do better work in picking 

 the fruit as we do not need to tramp the 

 vines ; we have plenty of room to set our 

 baskets or crates between the rows, and if 

 necessary, we can use a stone boat for 

 carrying off the fruit. 



Gro-win^ Celery 



J. Friendship, Kingston, Ont. 



The quickest and easiest method for 

 setting is the best. Open trenches with 

 a plow, four feet apart and about 10 

 inches deep, so that when plants are set 

 they are only a few inches below the level. 

 The celery does much better this way 

 than in deep trenches, and requires less 

 labor. I set the plants close, not more 

 than six inches apart, so that a 30-rod 

 row will hold 1,000 plants. Bv having 

 everything in readiness a man with two 

 smart boys can set out 25,000 in a short 

 time. 



CUl,TlV.\TION 



Celery must be kept growing steadily 

 to get crisp, tender stalks. It requires 

 more cultivation than other vegetables. 

 The ground must be kept loose and mel- 

 low so as to keep up the growth and 

 make it easy hilling up. This should not 

 be done too soon. The plants should 

 be allowed to grow to a fair size before 

 the banking or bleaching is done. At 

 this time the gardener appreciates the 

 value of the fine loose soil on the surface. 

 With it he can do his work well and with 

 pleasure. My plan is to bank as much 

 as I can with the horse. I use a shovel 

 plow, which pushes the loose soil up under 

 the leaves almost as well as a man can 

 do it by hand. Then two men, one on 

 either side, with hoes 20 inches long, or 

 scrapers as they are generally called, 

 shove the soil still more firmly against the 

 plants. They work together so as to 



keep the plants in place. It is Ught 

 work and the field can be gone over 

 quickly. Then leave the celery to bleach 

 until danger of frost. 



As soon as ground becomes cold, bank 

 up the plants until covered, taking care 

 to keep stalks straight. Before heavy 

 frost, cover with coarse horse manure 

 In this manner the celery will continue 

 growing and when used' will be verj- 

 crisp and tender, but will not keep long. 



For digging the crop, which should be 

 done before a heavy frost, use the horse 

 and plow a heavy furrow from each side 

 of the row. Have the plow so arranged 

 that it will cut close to plants without 

 injuring the stalks. This leaves them 

 loose enough to pull by hand. 



When storing leave the roots on, but 

 remove all old or useless leaves. For 

 long keeping, celery needs close trimming 

 and requires a dry, cool storehouse. 

 Place the plants in an upright position, 

 as close as possible, so that Ihev will con- 

 tinue bleaching without wilting. For 

 immediate use, keep the roots damp, 

 so that the growth will continue, making 

 that nice, crisp celery so much called 

 for during the holiday season. The 

 most profitable kinds to grow are White 

 Plume and Golden Paris, for early ; Giant 

 Pascal for medium or early winter; and 

 Rennie's Winter for late keeping. 



)e :.■ 



4 



Vegetable Notes 



Cabbage for money must be set out in 

 the field by May 24," said Mr. J. L. 

 Wood, of Toronto. "Before the last 

 transplanting the young plants must be 

 hardened off. Too long in the hotbed 

 makes the plants spindly. Transplant 

 to a cold frame. Harden off gradually 

 or they will blacken and die." 



The green fly on lettuce can be kept 

 in check by dusting with tobacco. It 

 should not be put on after the plants 

 begin to close.— H. E. Reid, Toronto. 



The earlier the tomato plants are set 

 out the less liable is the fruit to rot, and 

 the more can be harvested before the 

 ■rot comes. — A. Courtice, Toronto. 



To avoid black rot in tomatoes, the 

 plants should be set on poorer soil. Too 

 much manure in the land frequently 

 causes destruction by rot. — Jas. Gib- 

 bard, Doncaster, Ont. 



If frost nips the tomato plants after 

 I set them out, I get up early in the 

 morning and use the water-can freely to 

 prevent them from being damaged. — 

 H. E. Reid, Toronto. 



A western man who has had consider- 

 able experience in raising potatoes, says 

 that by planting two or three flax seeds 

 in each hill not a bug appeared in the 

 patch. The flax acted as a repellant. 

 He claims to have tried it several years 

 in succession with always the same re- 

 sults. This is a simple and inexpensive 

 experiment, and is worth trying. 



