Culture of Celery. 431 



penetrate to the- crown, and then you will have healthy and 

 wholesome sea-kale. But it is plain enough that, if it is other- 

 wise, it is our own fault, the same as it is with the seed 

 potato. 



Celery is one of the most wholesome and useful of all vegeta- 

 bles, but subject to mismanagement to a great degree. In the 

 first place, it is generally sown too early. The main crops should 

 never by any means be sown sooner than the first or second 

 week in April, and then on a very slight hotbed, covering a 

 part of the bed with a light or hand-glasses, by which means you 

 get plants of two different ages ; taking care to sprinkle your 

 beds and plants, when up, with water a little warmed. Keep the 

 earth stirred often with a pointed stick to keep it open. As soon 

 as the plants have two leaves besides the seed leaves, prick a 

 quantity very carefully on another sHght hotbed. If you want 

 to grow celery extra large, then prick it again in about 16 or 

 18 days; then the third time, leaving the same interval between. 

 Keeping them watered with good water, and hoeing them 

 often, will be the means of having strong well-rooted plants : but 

 they must not be allowed to stand, after the third time trans- 

 planting, more than 10 days or a fortnight, or the fibres will 

 have spread such a distance that they will be subject to get 

 broken off when taken up ; which should be done with great 

 care, with a trowel, with all the earth which will adhere to the 

 plants. I must here make one important remark, which is, 

 in planting in any stage of its growth never j)lant deep: 

 always leave the collar and seed leaves above ground, and, as 

 you must have plenty of room to plant it as high as you please, 

 do not tlirust your celery plants down into the cold gravelly or 

 sandy subsoil beneath, for if you do it will never be good. 

 You cannot possibly have good celery if you sow it too early, 

 and then allow your plants to stand in the seed bed until it is 

 drawn up weakly and spindly. I have seen some transplant it, 

 and allow the plants to get again drawn up weak and naked- 

 rooted, and then set to work in good earnest, because they saw a 

 neighbour do so the day before, in planting his celery. So they 

 dig out a trench 1 ft. wide, and about the same in depth ; put 

 in some dung ; turn up the subsoil amongst it, or on the top of it, 

 that possibly had never been moved before ; and then thrust into 

 this trench their long weakly plants a good depth, as it is called, 

 to keep them up ; they next earth them up early to smother them 

 more, and exj)ect to have good celery from this management, and 

 when they find it fail, put it upon the soil or the season. My 

 system is simply this. I always trench every bit of spare ground, 

 and throw it in ridges as soon as any crop is off. Now many 

 people will say : " We have not got time to do that ; we have 

 not strength enough ; besides we are forced to keep the groiuid 



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