2o6 Celery. 



trench, so that, in case of rain, the plants might not be drowned, it was, as 

 the boys say, " too much pork for the shilling." Certainly, with all this labor, 

 no one could afford to sell celery at a price which the multitude could 

 afford to pay ; and the testimony of all market-gardeners is, that there was 

 much toil and little money in the crop thus raised. Amateur gardeners 

 can afford to dig trenches, and give away celery; and, if they choose to do 

 so, we have no objection : but for those who make a living by their gardens, 

 and the oi poUoi who raise their vegetables by the sweat of their own 

 brows, there is a more excellent way. 



In New England, we prefer to sow the seed in a hot-bed, about the first 

 of April. As the seeds are very small, they require but a slight covering; 

 and an ounce of good seed will produce at least ten thousand plants. 

 Celery loves moisture, and will not bear much heat : we therefore sow the 

 seed on the south side of the hot-bed, where the soil does not become dry 

 so readily, and where the young plant is shaded from the direct rays of the 

 sun. Early in May, it is a good plan to transplant from the hot-bed into 

 an open but sheltered border, so that the young plants may have more 

 elbow-room, may become acclimated, and may get a more stocky growth. 

 To secure the latter end, it greatly conduces to pinch off some of the lead- 

 ing shoots at the time of transplanting. Celery is a hardy plant ; and there 

 is no danger, even if the thermometer should sink below thirty-tv^^o degrees. 

 In case of a severe frost, the young plants should be thoroughly sprinkled 

 with cold water early in the morning, before the sun's rays have struck 

 them. 



For winter use, the seed may as well be sown in an open border about 

 the first of May. If the seed-bed is made fine and rich, we have known 

 these late-sown plants to fully overtake the more pampered favorites of the 

 hot-bed. They are not compelled to pass through the trying change there 

 is in the transition from under glass into the open air. When started in 

 the hot-bed, the glass should be raised whenever practicable ; for it must 

 ever be borne in mind that celery loves a cool, moist atmosphere. 



For early use, we transplant into the blanching rows in June ; and, for 

 winter, the transplanting may be deferred as late as the first of August. 

 Instead of digging trenches, as Roessle recommends, we merely run a 

 plough twice in the same furrow, and in opposite directions, turning out 



