AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 485 



CELERY. 



Solon Robinson — I have received another letter from the gen- 

 tleman who wrote to me l^efure upon the subject of celery, wliich 

 I hope will elicit some further information upon this important 

 article of cultivation. It reads as follows : 



'-Johnson Creek, JY. Y., Feb. 22, 1858. 

 " I noticed the remarks in the papers relative to my letter, but 

 as the remarks were of too general a nature to benefit those who 

 wish to learn the minutice of celery growing, I make one more 

 effort to gain the desired information. I sow my seed in April j 

 on a bed well manured with horse dung, sow broadcast and rake 

 in lightly, weed them out and set them in trenches, about the 

 middle of July, and the plants are then not above three inches in 

 height. I set them in trendies eight inches deep, with about two 

 inches of manure at the bottom, slightly covered with earth. I 

 use no boards, nor anything to cover or shade them. They seem 

 to take a back-set, but fiuallv start and grow quite thriftily. I 

 hill up five or six times, scraping the dirt up with the hand, 

 holding the plant with one hand and keeping the stalks pressed 

 close together to prevent the dirt from falling into the centre of 

 the plant. I grew upward of sixty dollars' worth this year from 

 sixteen rods of ground. It was not of long growth. I find that 

 thousands of the plants die in the bed, just below the surface of 

 the earth; some invisible gnat, fly or worm gnaws the root. Yet 

 the plant looks green for some time, but at last dies, being inca- 

 pable of drawing sustenance from so small a thread as is left 

 from the gnawing. After setting the plants in trenches, they blast 

 or rust; they look as though some worm gnaws or sucks the stalks, 

 and they turn yellow in spots or streaks, to such an extent as to 

 make them unsaleable. I have heard that salt sprinkled around 

 the stalks before hilling, would prevent the rust. How should 

 guano be applied, or phosphate, for manure? What quantity 

 should be placed in a trench one hundred feet in length ? Should 

 it be mixed with earth, or placed in the trenches and covered 

 with earth? Manure is out of the question in this part of the 

 country fur an acre of celery. Guano or phosphate must be used, 



