280 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



bushel, while the early fruits of the 

 earlier varieties often sell as high as 

 $3.00 a bushel. These are usually 

 from the early or first ripening clusters ; 

 while the later clusters ripen with the 

 earlier clusters of the late varieties, 

 and on account of their lack of shape 

 and quality are sometimes unmarket- 

 able in competition with late varieties 

 that usually are of better quality and 

 more perfect in shape. 



Kor a number of years Mr. Robert- 

 son has been trying such early varieties 

 as Ruby, Dominion Day, Chalk's Early, 

 Jewel and Earliana. Of these he has 

 come to favor the two latter. The 

 Jewel embodies most of the desirable 



features he is aiming at, but it is a 

 little late in ripening. I'or the last 

 three years, he has been working with 

 the Earliana. Through careful selec- 

 tion he has secured a strain that has 

 become quite fixed in character, and 

 has most of the desirable features of 

 the Jewel and is much earlier. 



The illustrations speak for themselves. 

 The original type of Earliana are those 

 on the left. They show the deep 

 creases, irregularity, lack in depth, and 

 what is not shown in the cut, the un- 

 evenness in ripening. Those to the 

 right are the Improved Earliana, the 

 result of careful selection to secure the 

 desirable qualities of smoothness, pro- 



lificness, even ripening, firm flesh, aii' 

 early maturity. Such tomatoes will 

 sell even in competition with the besi 

 late varieties. 



"Often I have eight and nine good 

 sized tomatoes growing in a clust-er, 

 said Mr. Robertson. "My whole cro]) 

 this year was much better than in any 

 previous year in that the percentage 

 of rough, flat, unmarketable tomatoes 

 was greatly lessened, many vines having 

 full crops without any ill-shaped fruits." 

 So convinced is he that this work pays, 

 that he is applying similar methods 

 of selection for the improvement of 

 other crops. He is sure to win. Experi 

 ence counts, doesn't it? 



Ho^w to Gro^w Good Celery 



FOR the main celery crop, sow the 

 seed about the middle of April. 

 This is my practice. I have fine 

 stocky plants by June 15. I lay my 

 land out in beds five feet wide, raising 

 them a little, with an 18 inch walk be- 

 tween; and then sow the seed in rows 

 five to six inches apart. Shear the tops 

 of the plants about twice, as that makes 

 them grow more stocky; and plants 

 treated this way do not sucker so badly 

 as transplanted ones do. 



We like to have our land manured and 

 in good shape to receive the plants, 

 working it thoroughly with disk and 

 Acme harrows several weeks previous to 

 planting time. We generally plant with 

 a line in rows four feet apart with six 

 inches between the plants. One man, 

 with a boy to drop the plants for him, 

 can plant from 9,000 to 10,000 a day. 

 As to varieties we grow White Plume, 

 Paris and Golden Heart. 



A week after plants are set, or sooner 

 if possible, we start to cultivate with 

 a fine tooth cultivator, going as close to 

 plants as we can without smothering 

 them. When they are well established 

 and have made some growth, we put a 

 No. 8 Planet Jr. cultivator on, letting 

 it run deep for two or three times, after 

 which we ease upon the depth, but still 

 keep on cultivating. I like to get 

 through the patch twice a week. 



After the celery has got large and we 

 are afraid of too much root pruning, we 

 "rub" the ground; that is, if the weather' 

 is dry, we make a tool the shape of the 

 letter A, using planks, two by six inches. 

 We put a bar across the bottom part 

 to hitch whippletree to, joining it near 

 the top with a second cross bar attach- 

 ing two cultivator handles which are 

 braced. Leave the top open for the 

 earth to pass through. I find this a 

 fine tool in dry weather, as the capillary 

 power is pretty strong at that time and 

 the crop is evaporating a lot of moisture ; 



T. Densteod, StratKroy, Ont. 



SO, in keeping the pores of the surface 

 soil closed by "rubbing," we get ahead 

 of caoillaritv. 



Celery 2i Feet in Il^ig'it 



As soon as I notice any blight spots 

 on leaf, I dust with air-slaked lime and 

 a little sulphur, in proportion of about 

 eight to one. With me, this treatment 

 controls the blight. I use plenty of 

 wood ashes and salt on the soil, which, 

 I think, helps to prevent a bad attack 

 of the disease. 



RottenKeart in Celery 



"I think the main cause for 'rotten- 

 heart ' in celery is in poor selection of 

 seed," said A. McMeans, O.A.C., Guelpli. 

 "The seed man himself is not careful 

 in selecting from plants with sound 

 stalks; and the retail buyer does not 

 take proper precautions in selecting 

 seed of good quality. 



"I have bought seed from different 

 firms, and planted them on the same 

 soil, at the same time and under the 

 same treatment; and while some of 

 the celery produced was practically 

 free from rottenheart, other portions 

 would run as high as 10 per cent, of 

 diseased stalks. You cannot be too 

 careful in the selection of celery seed." 



The decay of a single specimen in the 

 bunch or storage pit may be communicat- 

 ed to and injure the rest. 



If market gardeners would pick out 

 the best potatoes to plant for producinj^ 

 seed for the following year there would 

 be no need to go to New Jersey or any 

 place else for seed potatoes. — Jas. Dand- 

 ridge, Humber Bay. 



We grow rhubarb under the bench' 

 in the greenhouse. The roots are dr 

 late in fall before the ground freezi 

 and hauled to the door of the gree:. 

 house and piled. About February 1 wi 

 commence putting them inside. This i^ 

 continued until about March 15. In 

 three weeks to a month from the time 

 they are housed they will be ready for 

 market. — F. D. Ghent, Buriington,"Oni. 



I start to prepare the compost for 

 mushrooms about December 1. The 

 bed is commenced about December 10 

 and finished about January 1. I cut 

 the first mushrooms about March 1 . 

 The dates mentioned are later than the 

 usual custom. A bed can be started in 

 NDvember. — T. Delworth, Weston, Ont. 



