35 



be broken or bent over it to shade the flower rnd water freely ap- 

 plied about the roots. It is said that when the plarjt does not flow- 

 er ill the field th;it it will in th(^ winter if well sot out in a damp 

 cellar." — Bij a JS'ew Hampshire Gardener. 



To Prepare Caidifloiuers. — Take off the centre leaves; 

 round such as are young leave j ust one leaf; put them 

 with some salt and a little milk into boiling water ; 

 boil according to size, from fifteen to twenty minutes ; 

 try the stalk with a fork and when the stalk feels ten- 

 der and the fork is easily withdrawn, the fiower is 

 done. Take up instantly with a wire ladle and serve 

 with butter sauce. 



Celery. ' Apiwn graveoleiis. — The varieties most es- 

 teemed are Seymour's Superb White Solid and the 

 Eose-colored Solid. 



"The seed of this plant when intended for an early crop should 

 be sown in a hot bed sometime in March, and the plants picked 

 out as soon as the leaves are about two inches long, at the dis- 

 tance of an inch or two apart and sliould stand in the bed until 

 they are large enough to set in the trenches where they are to 

 grow. Before setting the plants, tHe largest leaves should be 

 cropped off, as they start better than when left on. For a late 

 crop the seed may be sown in the garden any time in April, and 

 in all cases the ground should be finely pulverized, and the seed 

 covered not more than 1-4 of^n inch deep. The seeds should 

 be sown in moist, cool land, and shaded from 11 o'clock A. M., 

 until 2 P. M., as a hot sun will kill the plants when they first come 

 up. The land most suitable for its cuhivntiqn is a deep, black, 

 rich loam, and should be prepared by digging trenches from four 

 to five feet from centre to centre — one foot wide and one or more 

 deep. The manure should then be put in and if not fine it should 

 be made so by chopping and mixing with dirt until the trench is 

 nearly half full; then put on dirt enough to cover all the manure, 

 and the ground is ready for the plants. The plants should be set 

 in the centre of the trench and about eight inches apart, and kept 

 clean from weeds until the leaves are about one foot long at which 

 time it is large enough for bleaching; which is done by filling up 

 the trench and hiliincr up the earth about the leaf stocks. In do- 

 ing this, care should be taken to keep the leaves straight and the 

 dirt out of the centre of the stocks. The dirt may be put up 

 within three or four inches of the lop of the leaves the first hillings 

 and then go through the same process as often as once in 7 or 10 

 days until it is fit for use. I have used liquid manure and salt 

 with very good success on my plants before bleaching, but no 

 manure should come in contact with the leaves when the process 



