CELERY 



207 



especially during warm weather. The banking is therefore arranged 

 so that the crop can be harvested as the market demands. The 

 successive plantings require that the blanching be done in the order 

 of the planting, but it is not necessary that all of one planting be 

 -blanched at the same time. If 1000 plants will be required ten or 

 twelve days hence, 1000 plants are at once banked or boarded, the 

 remainder of the plantation to be banked in like manner as required. 

 This precaution of blanching only as required to supply the de- 

 mands of the market is more important in warm weather than in 



FIG. 79. The type of celery crate in most common use 



cool, and is more necessary with the so-called self-blanching sorts 

 than with the late green-stalked varieties. 



Celery intended for local consumption or for express shipment 

 is trimmed, washed, and bunched in the field. When the crop is 

 to be shipped by freight to a distant market, it is not trimmed and 

 the roots are not cut away. In fact, the whole plant is packed and 

 shipped. The usual plan is to pack in crates. The California pack- 

 age shown in figure 79 is 2 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 20 inches 

 deep and contains from six to eight dozen plants. The Florida 

 package is a flat crate 2 feet long, 20 inches wide, and 1 1 inches 



