138 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



close as possible in the row. If a broadcast bed gets too weedy, it will 

 be found cheapest and best to transplant to a new bed, using plenty 

 of water until the j^lants become established. 



The Preparation of the Soil. 



It is well understood that in order to have a good garden, manure is 

 needed. Fresh horse manure is good manure to plow in for a garden, 

 and 5 cords every year are needed for a garden of ^ acre. If you 

 will use that much manure you will find that whatever you plant 

 grows better than it did before and matures more quickly, and that 

 your croi>s do not feel the effects of dry weather as badly. 



For celery prepare the land by plowing in all weeds and refuse and 

 what manure you need after the first crops of jieas, beans or beets are 

 removed. Harrow and drag the surface, and then you may wait for 

 right weather conditions. If they do not come, and you are ready to 

 set the plants, harrow and drag again and then wet down the whole 

 surface of the soil with water, using 1 inch of water, which would 

 amount to 27,180 gallons to the acre. There is nothing else that will 

 do as much good just at this time. Lay off the rows 2 to 5 feet apart, 

 and set the plants as soon as the land is in fit condition. If both early 

 and late celery are grown, you may set the rows of late celery between 

 the rows of early, the rows of each variety being 4 feet or more apart. 

 This method of planting enables you to get a good row of celery every 

 2 feet. By setting the plants 6 inches apart in the row you can get one 

 good root of celery for each square foot of your land. 



Each person setting plants should set 400 or more an hour, and the 

 plants should be so firmly set that in trying to pull one out by a leaf 

 the leaf will break before the plant will start to come out of the ground. 

 If the weather continues dry after the plants are set, more water should 

 be given them. 



As soon as a clay or two after the plants are set they may and should 

 be shove-hoecl, and this style of hoeing should be continued every 

 four or five days until the plants shade the ground. 



Celery likes a soil well prepared by plowing, harrowing and dragging, 

 and will do best where fresh manure is plowed in. If the land is not 

 wet, water must be applied before the plants are set. If the plants 

 must be pulled any length of time before setting, they should be stood 

 in water for a few minutes and then placed in the shade until wanted 

 for setting. New white roots will start to grow at once, and in a day 

 or two after setting you will be able to see that the plants are growing. 

 Boys may pull and drop the plants for the men to set. 



Water should be used freely before and sparingly after setting the 

 plants. A f-inch hose with 65 to 75 pounds pressure will run GOG to 

 700 gallons of water an hour, and will take something like four days to 

 wet down an acre of land sufficiently for setting celery, costing about $14 

 or $15 for water and labor. Some sort of a labor-saving sprinkler system 



