PLANTING IN FIELD AND GARDEN 59 



recommended on a large scale. By planting 8 

 inches apart each way, and devoting one-half the 

 available space to beds, an acre would require 49,000 

 plants for setting. See Table II, planting distances. 

 This method of growing celery is frequently alluded 

 to as "The New Celery Culture," but plants grown 

 in this way require more hand labor for their culti- 

 vation, are more subject to disease, and as a rule 

 will not produce as much marketable celery to the 

 acre as by any one of the other planting methods. 



Overcoming Unfavorable Conditions at Planting 

 Time. Where celery is grown under conditions 

 that are not entirely suited to its requirements, it 

 may be necessary to provide special facilities for 

 the care and protection of the plants until they 

 become established in the open ground. When 

 planting in soil, that is deficient in moisture, or 

 where it is impossible to get the soil into proper 

 mechanical condition, the plants will be greatly 

 benefited by dipping their roots in a thin slime of 

 clay and water as they are removed from the plant 

 bed. This process is commonly termed "puddling" 

 and covers each rootlet with a coating of moist clay 

 which protects it from the air and insures a perfect 

 contact with the soil when the plant is set. When 

 setting celery plants in dry earth, the soil should 

 not be entirely filled in around them until a small 

 amount of water has been applied, then the dry soil 

 should be drawn over that which has been moist- 

 ened in order to prevent baking. 



Mulching. If a heavy clay soil, or a very light 

 sandy soil, only, is available for the growing of the 



