BLANCHING 



each plant by knotting around it a short piece of 

 string, fasten the string around the first plant in a 

 row, then pass to the second plant and around it 

 without cutting or breaking the string; while the 

 string is being carried around the plant with the 

 right hand, the outside leaves are brought up to- 

 gether with the left hand and held in place by the 

 string, and so on from plant to plant until the whole 

 row is held up without breaking the string and by 

 tying it at the ends of the row only. The work of 

 tying is greatly facilitated by strapping to the right 

 forearm a tin can in which the ball of cord is placed, 

 the inside end of the string being delivered through 

 a hole in the bottom of the can from which it passes 

 between the thumb and finger and around the plants. 

 The paper twine is manufactured by twisting a strip 

 of paper and it will go to pieces as soon as it be- 

 comes thoroughly moistened, and for this reason 

 offers no resistance to the growth of the celery, but 

 merely holds the stalks together until the earth is 

 thrown around them and compacted. 



Another method for holding the celery in posi- 

 tion for banking with earth, is by setting up boards 

 along the row, as for blanching with boards, then 

 after the earth has been thrown up against the 

 boards they are lifted out and removed. Where 

 celery planted in solid beds is banked with earth, 

 the entire amount of soil required must be shoveled 

 in by hand, but the work is greatly facilitated by 

 tying the plants or by setting boards temporarily 

 between the rows and then removing them after 

 the earth has been thrown in. 



