144 



CULINAEY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



cut, this migLt be a profitable method of 

 growing celery, by cutting off the haulm 

 of the potatoes when it began to interfere 

 ■with the celery plants, and thus giving 

 them all the advantages of light and air, 

 the potatoes to be taken up afterwards 

 when ripe, to admit of the celery being 

 earthed up. 



It has been suggested to grow celery 

 in water-tight trenches, with a view of 

 supplying them with abundance of mois- 

 ture at their roots, for there is no doubt 

 that celery cannot be grown rapidly or 

 of large size if kept very dry at its ex- 

 tremities ; on the other hand, there is the 

 danger to be apprehended of restoring to 

 the plant its deleterious, nay, poisonous pro- 

 perties, which it, along with so many more 

 of its near allies in the Umbelliferse, is 

 so weU known to possess. It were better 

 to adopt a system of subterranean irriga- 

 tion with liquid manure, to be used only 

 in very dry weather, and only when the 

 plants are in their height of growth, and 

 dispensing with it afterwards. We have 

 adopted the following plan with advan- 

 tage to the bulk of crop, and without 

 any evident sign of lessening the whole- 

 someness of the plants : Along the centre 

 of each single trench, imbedded in the 

 manure, and over which the plants were 

 set, we placed a course of drain-tiles laid 

 on soles, having at the upper end (for the 

 ground was considerably on the incline) 

 an upright drain - pipe communicating 

 with the tile -drain below. Into this 

 liquid manure was poured, and allowed 

 to escape through the openings between 

 the tiles, thus moistening the dung and 

 soil in which the roots were growing 

 without at all wetting the soil around 

 the stalks, which should be at aU times 

 kept as dry as possible. 



Subsequent cultivation. — This consists 

 chiefly in carefully removing any side 

 shoots that may arise from the collar of 

 the plants before earthing up, which is of 

 considerable advantage in securing well- 

 grown heads. As to the time of earthing 

 up, opinions of late years seem to difier 

 widely; some advocate the old method 

 of earthing up progressively, putting a 

 little only at a time, taking care to keep 

 the hearts of the plants clear of soil; 

 others say that no earthing up should take 

 place until the plants have nearly attained 

 their full size, when the earth should be 



put to all at once ; while others earth up 

 when the plants are about 1 8 inches high, 

 for the first time, adding a little after- 

 wards so long as the growing season con- 

 tinues. 



Some, instead of using the natural soil 

 of the garden, pack the plants around 

 with fine sand, and others use finely-sifted 

 coal-ashes for a like purpose. Mr Roberts, 

 a year or two ago, recommended what he 

 called his " celery-blanching tiles," which 

 in principle were nothing other, except 

 in price, than common drain-tiles, one of 

 which he placed on each plant, with a 

 view to blanch it, and at the same time to 

 keep it from coming into contact with 

 the damp soil. The idea struck us as 

 sufiiciently feasible, believing that etiola- 

 tion would be eifected, and that the pro- 

 tection afforded by the tiles would tend 

 to preserve the plants during winter. 

 We contented ourselves, however^ with 

 employing two common horse-shoe drain- 

 tiles, placing one on each side of a plant, 

 and thus forming as good a blanching- 

 tile as the other. These were put on 

 when the plants were about 18 inches 

 high, and kept in their places by working 

 earth in amongst them to keep them 

 steady. Contrary, however, to expecta- 

 tion, we found the beds so treated the 

 first to suffer from rot, and have since 

 discontinued their use for this purpose, 

 although we use them for another, which 

 will be noticed below. 



The grand secret, if we may make use 

 of a word which is too often made use of 

 as a cloak to imposture, is to earth up 

 only when the plants and the soil are as 

 dry as possible. To do so when either is 

 damp, is entailing destruction on the 

 crop. 



The London market-garden practice is 

 thus described by Mr Cuthill : " The 

 operation of earthing up is all performed 

 by the spade; no hand earthing is employ- 

 ed. Parallel lines are stretched on each 

 side of the row 18 inches from the plants, 

 and the mould is cut out of the alleys to 

 form the blanching ridge. Late earthing 

 up is effected in about three difierent 

 times." 



In earthing up the broad or Scotch 

 form of beds, the plants being disencum- 

 bered of all side shoots or suckers, two 

 pieces of board about 9 inches in width 

 are placed one on one side of a row, and the 



