IV.] THE AMERICAN GARDENER. 131 



put up be finely broken^ and not at all cloddy. 

 While you do this, keep the stalks of the outside 

 leaves close up to prevent the earth from getting 

 between the stems of the outside leaves and the 

 inner ones ; for, if it get there it checks the plant 

 and makes the celery bad. — When you begin the 

 earthing take first the edges of the trenches ; and 

 do not go into the middle of the intervals for the 

 earth that you took out of the trenches. Keep 

 working backwards, time after time, that is earth- 

 ing after earthing, till you come to the earth that 

 you dug out of the trenches ; and, by this time the 

 earth against the plants will be above the level of 

 the land. Then you take the earth out of the mid- 

 dle, till, at last the earth against the plants form a 

 ridge and the middle of each interval a sort of gut- 

 ter. Earth up very often ^ and not put much at a 

 time. Every week a little earth to be put up. — > 

 Thus, in October, you will have four ridges of Ce- 

 lery across one of the Plats, each containing 168 

 plants. I shall suppose one of these ridges to be 

 wanted for use before the frost sets in for good. 

 Leave another ridge to be lock-up by the frost, a 

 much safer guardian than your cellar or barn-door. 

 But, you must cover this ridge over in such a way 

 that the wet will not get down into the hearts of the 

 celery. Two boards, a foot wide each, their edges 

 on one side laid upon the earth of the ridge, formed 

 into ^ roof over the point of the ridge, the upper 

 edge of one board going an inch over the upper 

 edge of the other, and the boards fastened well 

 with pegs, will do the business completely ; for it is 

 not the frost, but the occasional thaws that you have 

 to fear, and the wet and rot that they produce.^ — 

 For the celery that is to serve from the setting in 

 to the breaking up of the frost, you must have a bed 



