76 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



give them what they are willing to pay for. That may be a 

 wrong principle, but it takes money to make the mare go some- 

 times. 



A Member. Do you store your celery in trenches because it 

 is easier and cheaper than it is in cellars or pits? 



Mr. Garrahan. I don't know what it costs in pits. I have 

 seen that done around Boston, but I believe the trenching 

 method would be a whole lot cheaper. Do any of you gentle- 

 men know what the cost of trenching in those pits is as a rule? 



A Member. It costs us now — of course, it depends on the 

 help we have — about $20 to $30 an acre to put it away for the 

 winter. It is almost impossible, though, to get help enough at 

 that season of the year to build your houses, but if you build 

 your pits two or three weeks earlier, before you put in your 

 winter crops, then you can store your celery very fast with 

 comparatively a small gang. Some gangs put in a couple of 

 acres — 3 acres almost — a day. 



A Member. How many rows would you advige? 



Mr. Garrahan. That will depend on the size of the celery; 

 anywhere from 10 to 14 to 16 rows. 



A Member. How do you take the celery out of those 

 trenches? 



Mr. Garrahan. It isii't a very serious matter to take the 

 celery out of those trenches, and digging trenches doesn't bother 

 us a great deal. We usually do that in the morning when it's 

 wet or when it's frozen a little bit. It saves a lot of carting if 

 you jusi dig them and lay them out where they are, and it saves 

 handling the celery a good deal too. 



A Member. Do you thin that celery any before you put it 

 in these trenches? 



Mr. Garrahan. Yes, we take off all outside broken or de- 

 cayed leaves. 



A Member. Do you put any dirt on the root of that celery 

 as you put it in the trenches? 



Mr. Garrahan. We knock every particle of dirt off. 



A Member. When do you begin to spray? How often do 

 you spray your plants? 



Mr. Garrahan. After they begin to grow nicely in the flats. 



