CELERY 



205 



if handled with care, will last several seasons. They are cool, have 

 no bad odors to be imparted to the plant, and if it were not for 

 their weight and the labor of placing them in the field, they would 

 prove more satisfactory than boards. Celery blanched in this way 

 is of better quality than that blanched with boards or paper. 



Harvesting. The manner in which celery is harvested is prede- 

 termined by the use to be made of it and by the system under which 

 it has been grown and blanched. Early celery blanched with boards, 

 paper, or tile and for immediate consumption can be lifted with 

 a potato or spading fork. It 

 should be carried to the pack- 

 ing shed, where an abundant 

 supply of fresh, clear water 

 should be available for filling 

 long plant- washing troughs. 

 The washing troughs are usu- 

 ally from 1 8 inches to 3 feet 

 wide, 15 or 18 inches deep, 

 and any convenient length ac- 

 cording to the dimensions of 

 the workroom. As the celery 

 is brought from the field the 

 rough outer leaves are stripped 

 off until the plant is reduced 

 to the number of stalks desired. 

 The roots are then cut off, 

 some growers making the cut at right angles to the general axis 

 of the plant, but most packers cut the root so as to form a four- 

 sided cone. After the plants are trimmed they are carefully washed, 

 rinsed, and placed on racks to drain, and then are tied in bunches 

 usually containing twelve plants (see figure 77). The neatness and 

 attractiveness of the bunches have a great influence on the com- 

 mercial value of the product ; therefore appearance is one of the 

 chief factors to be considered in marketing celery. 



If the celery has been banked with earth, the ridges are thrown 

 down by running a furrow along the rows, so as to throw the earth 

 away from the plants. If this reduces the ridges to the general 

 level of the soil, a second furrow is run on one side of the row, the 



FIG. 77. Celery trimmed, washed, and 

 bunched 



