CELERY. 77 



which are driven on the south side of the row, and 

 slanting toward the north ; by leaning a board against 

 these, the plants will stand in the shade during the 

 hotter portion of the day, and be exposed to the sun 

 in the evening and morning. 



Celery receives the greater portion of its cultiva- 

 tion in the seed-bed. It is cultivated once or twice 

 after setting out, and then the earth is gradually 

 drawn up to the row, keeping the foliage on top of an 

 A-shaped ridge. In the family garden, this is made 

 with a common hoe, but on celery farms special plows 

 are used for this purpose ; these are drawn by a team, 

 and hill both sides at once. This banking is for the 

 purpose of blanching. This is simply to keep chloro- 

 phyll from forming in the stems, and to remove what 

 has already formed. 



Shutting out the light in many other ways is just as 

 good as banking or hilling, if it keeps the light out as 

 thoroughly. Another way of bleaching (or blanch- 

 ing) that is employed extensively is to use boards in 

 the place of earth. Eight to twelve-inch boards are 

 taken, according to the variety of celery to be bleached, 

 and laid flat alongside of the row with one edge next 

 to the plants, raise the outer edge of the boards up 

 against the plants ; now move the lower edge out a 

 few inches, this will let the board stand against the row 

 of celery ; press the board down to shut out all light 

 from the bottom, and the whole work of banking is 

 done. In two or three weeks the celery will be 

 bleached sufficiently for use. If there is danger of the 

 boards falling, they may be fastened by nailing a light 

 strip from one to the other. The upper edge of the 

 board should be pressed together firmly, but not hard 

 enough to bruise the leaves. This method is good for 

 family use, but when celery is grown on a large scale, 

 it takes too much lumber and too much work. 



