206 PLAIlSr AND PLEASANT TALK 



Set the plants five inches apart, water them freely with a 

 fine rosed watering pot, and, if the sun is fierce, cover 

 tlie trenches daily from ten a.m. till evening with boards. 

 In about a week they will begin to grow and will need 

 no more shading. 



Let them alone, except to weed, until the plants are from 

 twelve to fifteen inches high — at which time they are to be 

 earthed up. 



Earthing Up. — In dry weather, with a short, hand-hoe, 

 draw in the earth gently from each side and bring it up 

 carefully to the stalk. The soil must be kept out of the 

 plant, and it is best for the first and perhaps the second 

 time of earthing, to gather up the leaves in the left hand, 

 and holding them together, to draw the earth about them. 

 Fill in about once in two weeks, and always when the plants 

 are dry. When the trench is full, the process is still to go 

 on, and at the close of the season your plants will be 

 exactly reversed — instead of standing in a trench they will 

 top out from a high ridge. 



Saving Celery in Winter. — ^Three ways may be men- 

 tioned. Letting it stand in the trench — in which case it 

 should be covered with long straw and boards so laid over 

 it that it will be protected from the wet, which is supposed 

 to be more prejudicial to it than mere cold. 



The Boston market gardeners dig it late in autumn, trim 

 ofi" the fibrous roots, cut ofi" the top, lay it for two days 

 in an airy shed, turning it, say twice a day, and then pack 

 it in layers of perfectly dry sand, in a barrel. After laying 

 two days to air it goes into the barrel much wilted, but 

 regains its plumpness, and comes out as fresh as from the 

 trench. 



Lastly, it may be put in rows on the cellar bottom, with- 

 out trimming, and earth heaped up about it. Set a plank 

 at an angle of forty-five degrees and bank up the eart-h 

 against it, set a row of roots and cover them with dirt, 

 then another row and so on. 



