430 
be laid on the firm surface to the depth of 
6 inches, and thoroughly watered. As soon as 
the water has subsided, and the compost is not 
too wet for working, the plants should be trans- 
planted to 4 inches apart, in rows 6 inches 
asunder. Care must be taken to keep the 
roots moist while out of the ground, and to 
shorten the long tap-roots before planting. 
A third sowing for a late crop may be made 
about the middle of April, on rich soil or com- 
post, on an open border facing the south. The 
plants, when fit, may be pricked out, and after- 
wards transplanted to a nursery-bed; or, if 
raised thinly, they can be transferred direct to 
the trenches. A small sowing for a very late 
supply may be made in May. 
Preparation of the Ground. — Most of the 
largest Celery is grown in trenches; and in 
cold retentive soils this is doubtless the best | 
mode, as the ridge can be made to throw off | 
the water in winter—an advantage which the 
flat-bed does not possess. For winter Celery, 
trenches are certainly to be preferred; and if 
large heads are not desired, the plants may be 
put closer together, say at 6 inches apart, in 
trenches 34 feet apart; this in preference to 
planting in double rows. 
The ground having been selected, the direc- 
tion of the trenches, their distance apart, and 
their width should be determined. Their direc- 
tion ought to be north-and-south, as admitting 
the fullest exposure to light. The distance 
should be greater for tall than for dwarf-growing 
sorts. It ought not to be less than 3 feet from 
centre to centre of the trenches, nor more than 
6 feet. In small gardens very good medium- 
sized heads may be produced in trenches 3 feet 
apart. When soiled up, the ridges will neces- 
sarily be thin, and will consequently be easily 
frozen through; but this objection may be ob- 
viated by covering them with litter. Celery, as 
large as need be desired, and of better quality 
than that grown to a larger size, may be pro- 
duced in trenches 4 feet apart. In general, this 
may be considered a good distance. Where 
ground is plentiful, 5 feet may be allowed; and 
where the object is to have large examples, the | 
but if the bottom is of a cold nature, it is better 
trenches may be 6 feet apart. 
Some growers make the trenches a spade’s 
width or about 12 inches, others 15 inches, and 
some as much as 18 inches. For general pur- 
| wards. 
poses they should not be less than 15 inches 
wide at bottom, and to this width the soil 
should be worked out and manured. When 
the distance between the trenches is 4 feet or 
upwards, they may be formed 18 inches wide. 
THE GARDENER’S ASSISTANT. 
The depths of the trenches depends, in some 
measure, on the quantity or depth of manure 
intended to be introduced into them. The mar- 
ket-gardeners near London dig the trenches two 
spades deep, fill in a foot deep of strong manure, 
and over that 3 or 4 inches of soil, and in this the 
plants are inserted. Near Manchester, where 
excellent Celery is produced, the trenches are 
taken out 18 inches wide and 1 foot deep, then 
9 inches deep of compost is introduced; so that 
the plants are thus within 3 inches of the 
original surface. Where much manure is em- 
ployed, as is the case near London, the depth of 
the trenches will require to be a little more than 
1 foot; and where little manure is used, they 
should be more shallow ; but in most cases 1 foot 
may be considered a proper depth. 
The trenches should be cut with the sides 
as nearly perpendicular as the texture of the 
soil will permit, except near the top. They 
should be made, if possible, as wide at the 
bottom as at 9 inches above it. The other 3 
inches next the surface, together with the soil 
taken out of the trench, ought to slope back- 
The object of this is to form a wide 
receiver for rain, and to expose the plants to 
more light. 
The trenches ought to be got ready as early 
in the summer as possible. Not only does this 
admit of the ridges between being cropped 
with Lettuce, Kidney-Beans, Peas, and Onions, 
but it also allows good time for the soil and 
/manure in the trenches to become mellowed. 
If got ready well in advance of planting-time, 
advantage can always be taken of a showery- 
time to move large numbers of Celery plants 
under very favourable conditions. 
The manure for the trenches may consist of a 
mixture of horse and cow dung, or these mixed 
with old rotten dung, or a compost of rotten 
dung and fresh maiden loam, and if leaf-mould 
or a little peat-soil can be added, so much the 
better. Horse-dung should not be used in a 
dry littery state; it should be partially fer- 
mented, turned, and watered, till reduced to a 
moist consistency. The manure is usually turned 
over, and some soil turned up for planting in; 
to use some of the top-soil for this purpose, 
unless indeed the trench contains a sufficient 
depth of compost into which the plants can be 
inserted. 
The plants should be carefully taken up with 
balls by means of a trowel, and placed upright 
side by side on a hand-barrow. Previous to 
planting, every offset or side-slip may be re- 
