ACETARIACEOUS PLANTS.— CELERY. 



143 



either narrow, intended for a single row 

 of plants, or 4 or 5 feet in breadth, 

 for the reception of several rows of plants. 

 The first is no doubt the best for crops to 

 stand over the winter, where protection is 

 not to be given, and where there is ground 

 to spare. It is the plan adopted to secure 

 very large specimens, and hence the 

 Manchester growers practise it to attain 

 the latter object ; and the London mar- 

 ket-gardeners grow it in the same way, 

 because, as with asparagus, the larger it 

 is the better it takes in the market. In 

 private gardens, where large size is less a 

 consideration than crisp, well-blanched, 

 and high-flavoured stems, the broad 

 trench, or Scotch mode, is greatly to be 

 preferred, as well on account of its yield- 

 ing a much greater number of mode- 

 rately-sized heads upon the same extent 

 of surface. 



The London market-gardeners' mode 

 of planting " is to dig out a trench two 

 spades deep, banking the mould up on 

 either side ; then to fill in a foot of the 

 strongest manure, such as cow-dung, and 

 to cover this with 3 or 4 inches of mould 

 for planting in. If the ground is very 

 rich, half the quantity of manure is ap- 

 plied. The rows are generally from 4 to 

 6 feet apart. The plants are then taken 

 from, the seed-bed, and planted root and 

 head entire — not trimmed in, a plan 

 which ought to be discontinued in every- 

 thing." To this we heartily say, Amen. 

 " The plants are placed about 8 inches 

 apart, the intermediate ground being 

 planted with coleworts, lettuce, or any 

 other light crops, which are likely to be 

 off before the celery wants moulding up ; 

 but market-gardeners do not begin blanch- 

 ing until the plants are about 18 inches 

 high, as it prevents rain and air acting on 

 the roots." — Cuthill, MarJcet - gardening 

 around London, p. 23. 



The Edinburgh marJcet-gardeners' mode of 

 planting. — Trenches 6 feet wide and 1 foot 

 deep are dug out ; a copious dunging is 

 laid on the bottom, sometimes dug in, at 

 other times spread over the bottom of 

 the trench, trodden or beaten down pretty 

 firmly, and 3 inches of soil laid over, into 

 which the plants are set in rows across 

 the bed, 14 inches asunder, and the plants 

 9 inches apart in the row. By this means 

 space is economised, and the plants attain 

 a fair average size and quality. The same 



plan is very often followed in private gar- 

 dens ; and where the new and improved 

 sorts, such as Cole's, are gTown, they arrive 

 at the size most available for family use. 

 This is decidedly the best way for amateurs 

 to grow this crop. They should grow their 

 plants in nursery-beds until they are 10 

 inches or a foot in height before final 

 planting, giving plenty of water, and 

 afterwards earthing up once a fortnight. 



The Manchester growers dig their trenches 

 18 inches wide and a foot in depth, and 

 from 4 to 5 feet distant from each other, 

 and lay in 9 inches in thickness of com- 

 post composed of fresh strong soil and 

 well-rotted hot-bed dung, in the propor- 

 tion of three-fourths of the latter to one- 

 fourth of the former. The plants are 

 taken from the nursery-beds with all their 

 roots entire, and as much ball as will 

 adhere to them. The side shoots or 

 suckers are removed from the stems, and 

 they are set in with a planting-trowel, 10' 

 inches apart, the row being in the centre 

 of the trench. They are watered liber- 

 ally until fit for earthing up, but not 

 afterwards. 



Many plant on the surface — that is, 

 marking out the size of the bed on ground 

 that has been previously trenched, dig- 

 ging in at least 6 or 8 inches of rich half- 

 decayed manure, and planting either in 

 single lines 4 feet apart, or making beds 

 6 feet broad, and planting across them, 

 setting the rows 14 inches distant, and 

 the plants in either' way 8 inches apart in 

 the lines. They may be earthed up as 

 they advance, or not until they have 

 attained the height of a foot. A mode' 

 of planting celery, which may be called 

 the simultaneous manner, is practised in 

 some parts, and with evident advantage 

 where ground is scarce. The manner is 

 as follows : Early potatoes are planted in 

 spring (or we would recommend autumn), 

 at about 2| feet row from row ; when 

 they are earthed up, a hollow trench is 

 thus of necessity formed, into which rotten 

 dung is placed, and on that, covered to 

 the depth of 2 inches with soil, celery 

 plants are set. As the potatoes are taken 

 up, a little earth is put to the celery, which 

 goes on growing, so that when the potato 

 crop is cleared, the celery one is well ad- 

 vanced, and treated in the usual manner. 

 If the supposition be correct, that tubers 

 increase in size after the haulm has been 



