THE PRODUCTION OF PLANTS 45 



Care of the Outdoor Seed-bed. Care is necessary 

 in watering the seed-bed and the rule should be to 

 water only the spots that begin to show a tendency 

 to dryness, although no part of the bed should be- 

 come dry. The best method of applying water to the 

 seed-bed is by means of a sprinkling can in the 

 hands of a competent boy. In case the bed is a 

 large one, the supply of water should be conducted 

 to different parts of the bed by means of pipes, and 

 a half-barrel placed under each outlet in order that 

 the sprinkling can may be filled easily. The beds 

 should be gone over very often during daylight 

 hours and watered only when necessary. About 

 three weeks' time is generally required for celery 

 seed sown in the open ground to appear, and this to- 

 gether with the two weeks following is the most 

 critical period in the production of a celery crop. 

 As soon as the seedlings appear, the watering must 

 be performed with the greatest of care and should 

 not be excessive on account of the liability of "damp- 

 ing-off." The damping-off fungus is not so liable 

 to attack celery plants grown in the open seed-bed 

 as those in the greenhouse or hotbed, but conditions 

 suitable to its development are brought about by 

 excessive watering and humidity. 



Protection of Plant Beds. In localities subject to 

 strong winds, it is often necessary to protect the 

 plant beds by means of shelters consisting of either 

 a tight board fence on one or more sides of the 

 beds, cotton cloth spread upon the beds before the 

 plants are up and afterward raised and suspended 

 over the beds, or by setting wide boards on edge 



