CELERY. 



187 



barrels or troughs containing an inch or two of water. This is 

 also a very good way of hastening the bleaching process. 



The green stalks of celery do not become white, and the 

 term "bleaching'* is a misnomer. The ''bleaching" of celery is 

 simply the result of the plant making growth in the dark. 

 Bleached celery will keep but a short time and should be used 

 as soon as white. Celery for use in the latter part of winter 

 should be quite green in color when put into winter storage; for 

 early winter use it should be partly bleached when stored. For 

 winter use celery should be left out as late as is safe in the 

 fall, so that the cellar or pit where it is to be stored may be 

 thoroughly cooled off before it is put in. 



The Time Required for Bleaching Celery in the field will de- 

 pend upon whether it is growing rapidly or not. During the first 

 part of September, when it is making a rapid growth, it will 

 probably be fit to use in three weeks from the time it is banked 

 up; while later on, when the weather is cool and the celery is 

 growing slowly, four weeks will be found necessary. The same 

 conditions affect the bleaching process after storing. In an 

 ordinary frost proof cellar, it may easily be bleached in three 

 weeks by watering it and then raising the temperature to fifty 

 degrees. 



Celery Seed is raised by wintering the roots and planting 

 them out in the spring, in much the same way that seed of the 

 carrot and other biennial plants is grow^n. 



Diseases. — There are two diseases, rust and leaf blight, that 

 sometimes seriously injure celery, but they are not commonly 

 very troublesome. As a rule, celery growers do not attempt to 

 fight them, but select the healthiest varieties and trust to good 

 cultivation to enable the plants to resist them. The diseases re- 

 ferred to are described as follov/s: 



Leaf Blight. (Septoria Petroselini var. apii.) All parts of 

 'he celery plant except the roots are liable to the attacks of this 

 /ungous disease. Watery spots appear on the stems and leaves, 

 vhich soon show small, black dots. This disease may be spread 

 by the seeds, which are likely to become infected. 



Treatment. — The first precaution is to plant clean seed. 

 That which is spotted or speckled with the black spots of disease 



