322 How THE FARM PAYS. 



CELERY. 



Celery is annually becoming of more and more importance as a vege- 

 table crop. Thousands of acres of it are grown in the neighborhood of 

 all our large cities; of late, in the vicinity of New York, the demand has 

 been in excess of the supply, and the extraordinary circumstance of a 

 vegetable of this description being sent from Michigan to New York 

 occurred last year. The soil and climate of Michigan seem to be 

 particularly suited to the growth of Celery, and the samples sent to New 

 York exceeded anything grown in the neighborhood, and brought 

 a price sufficient to justify the heavy freight from that great distance. 

 Celery requires rich soil and heavy manuring to have it of the best 

 quality; although on land that has not been used for it before, such 

 as following after potatoes or corn, fine crops may be raised, if the 

 ground is in good heart, without extra manuring. As a little more 

 requires to be said on the culture of this crop than a good many 

 other vegetables, I insert the following from my Horticultural Essays, 

 published in 1882, which contains, in my opinion, about all the informa- 

 tion necessary on the subject. 



ON THE GROWING AND PRESERVING OF CELERY FOR WINTER. 



The seeds are sown on a well pulverized, rich border, in the open 

 ground, as early in the season as the ground can be worked. (For 

 instructions in sowing, see article headed " Use of the Feet in Sowing 

 and Planting.") The bed is kept clear of weeds until July, when the 

 plants are set out for the crop. But as the seedling plants are rather 

 troublesome to raise, when for private use only, and as they can 

 usually be purchased cheaper than they can be raised on a small scale, 

 it is scarcely worth while to sow the seed. But when wanted in 

 quantity, the plants should always be raised by the grower, as Celery 

 plants are not only difficult to transplant, but are usually too expensive 

 to buy when the crop is grown to sell. The European plan is to make 

 a trench six or eight inches deep in which to plant Celery; but our 

 violent rain storms in summer soon showed us that this plan was not 

 a good one here, so we set about planting on the level surface of the 

 ground, just as we do with all vegetables. Celery requires an abun- 

 dance of manure, which, as usual with aU other crops, must be well 

 mixed and incorporated with the soil before the Celery is set out. 

 When the ground is well prepared, we stretch a line to the distance 

 required, and beat it slightly with a spade, so that it leaves a mark to 



