CELERY. 225 



beginning of March, and the seed lies some weeks in 

 the ground before the plants appear. As they grow up 

 they are thinned out, and they are defended by branches 

 or other coverings from hard weather in winter. The 

 Hamburgh variety is sown about the same time in 

 a. well-trenched soil, in drills a foot apart, and it is 

 thinned to about nine inches in the rows. In the be- 

 ginning of November, the roots are taken up and stored 

 in sand. 



Celery [Apium graveolens) is a native British bien- 

 nial, an inhabitant of the sides of ditches near the sea. 

 In its wild state, it is of an acrid nature, and of a coarse 

 rank flavor; but by cultivation it is improved into 

 one of the most agreeable salads. There are two prin- 

 cipal varieties ; celery, properly so called, with upright 

 stalks and fibrous or slightly tuberous roots ; and cele- 

 riao, with large turnip-shaped roots. Of the former, 

 the principal subvarieties are, the Italian, the Red 

 Solid, and the White Solid, of which the second and 

 third are the best. 



In England, celery is usually sown at three difierent 

 times: on a hotbed in the beginning of March, and in 

 the open ground in March, and again in April. The 

 seedlings, when about two inches high, are pricked into 

 rich soil, in which they are allowed to stand till they 

 be four or five inches high. The first crop is defended 

 by frames or hand-glasses, and is planted wide, to admit 

 -of being lifted with balls of earth adhering to the roots. 

 Towards the end of May, trenches for blanching the 

 celery are prepared. These trenches are three and a 

 half or four feet apart, fifteen inches wide at the bottom, 

 and about a foot below the natural level of the surface. 

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