CELERY. 57 



recommending such, thin planting, but I know what I 

 know. I know that their land, which has been in gar- 

 den culture for many years, is in a very different condi- 

 tion from our very best farm land, and it will be far bet- 

 ter the first year or two, when trying to raise garden 

 crops on farm land, not to plant too thickly. 



In setting out the celery plants, select damp weather 

 if possible, but a damp or rainy day is not half so neces- 

 sary as a finely worked, mellow and moist soil. If the 

 ground is dry and cloddy, so that the dry lumps of earth 

 will tumble into the hole made by the dibble, you had 

 better let the plants stay where they are, and go to work 

 with a roller and harrow until you have made the soil 

 fine and mellow. I know that this can be done, and it is 

 sometimes necessary to go over the land half a dozen 

 times or more with a roller and harrow. I put one team 

 to the roller, and a three-horse team to a Smoothing Har- 

 row. Having the boy ride on the harrow so as to press 

 it into the soil, let him go ahead and stir up the soil, 

 bringing the lumps to the surface. The roller follows and 

 crushes the surface; then go over it again, going round 

 and round the lumpy piece until every lump is broken up 

 fine. Even a very light shower will make such a well- 

 worked soil moist enough to allow the plants to be set 

 out, and if we do not have any shower, the moisture will 

 in time come up from the subsoil and make the ground 

 moist enough to insure the safety of the plants. A re- 

 cently transplanted row of celery often presents a sorry 

 appearance in our dry climate. But do not be discour- 

 aged. If the roots and the crowns of the plants are alive 

 they will in time start into growth. If the plants were 

 set out during a rain, and the surface of the soil after- 

 wards bakes or becomes hard, the crust should be broken 

 up fine with a hoe. An inch or two of dry, loose earth 

 on the surface checks evaporation and keeps the soil 

 moist underneath where the roots are. Always remem- 



