CHAP. I. CULINARY VEGETABLES. 165 



Apium graveolens. 



CELERY. 



Of this vegetable there are two principal kinds, the white 

 and the red ; of each of these there are also several varieties. 

 The red varieties in this country are of larger growth, and 

 produce firmer and denser heads than the white ; but the white, 

 when raised from good seed and well cultivated, are by no 

 means inferior. 



The perfection to which Celery may be brought depends, un- 

 questionably, in a great measure on the quality of the seed. I 

 have seen no finer specimens of Celery in India than those for 

 which my malee gained the bronze medal and first prize at the 

 Calcutta Horticultural shows. They were of Cole's solid Bed 

 and Crystal White. Another kind, also, which with me has 

 proved of great excellence, is the Incomparable Dwarf White. 



Celery takes a long time to complete its growth in ; sowings, 

 therefore, may be made as early as the beginning of August. 

 The seed, however, which at a later and more congenial season 

 germinates in about twelve days, at this early period may be 

 expected to come up not until, perhaps, six weeks or two 

 months after sown, and then only partially. It should be 

 sown in gtfrnlahs in a light soil, and if the seedlings come up 

 too thickly, they should be pricked out to about two inches 

 apart, and remain till they become strong, healthy plants, three 

 or four inches high, before being removed to their places in the 

 open ground. 



The usual mode of preparing the ground for the young plants 

 is to dig trenches eighteen inches apart, eighteen inches deep, 

 and as many wide. The trenches are then filled up with a com- 

 post of two parts of well-decayed cow-manure to one part of 

 common earth, to the height of nine inches. In these trenches 

 the young plants are put eighteen inches apart. They are then 

 kept frequently watered, and about once a week supplied with 

 liquid manure. Saline manure is said to be highly beneficial, 

 and to tend to make the vegetable crisp. 



Most cultivators commence the process of blanching by 

 earthing up the stems at a very early period, and continuing to 

 do so till the vegetable is taken up for use. One method often 



