CELERY. 



191 



sow 300 feet of row, which, for most families, would be 

 an abundance, both for summer and winter use. Carrots 

 are much prized as food for horses and cows, and if 

 wanted for this purpose in quantity, they should be sown 

 with a seed-drill, in rows one and a half to two feet 

 apart ; about four pounds of seed per acre is required. 



CELERY, (Apium graveolens.) 



If I am fitted to instruct on the cultivation of any veg- 

 etable, it is this, as for many years I have cultivated 

 nearly half a million roots annually, and this experience 

 has resulted in greatly simplifying the operation. The 

 seeds are sown on a well pulverized rich border, as early 

 in the season as the ground can be worked. The bed is 

 kept clear of weeds until July, when the- plants are set 

 out for the crop. But as the seedling plants are rather 

 troublesome to raise, the small number wanted for private 

 use, can usually be purchased cheaper than they can be 

 raised on a small scale, (they rarely cost more than $1 per 

 100), and if they can be procured fresh from the market 

 gardeners in the neighborhood, it is never worth while to 

 sow the seed. The European plan is to make a trench 

 six or eight inches deep, in which to plant celery, but 

 our violent rain storms in summer soon showed us that 

 this plan was not a good one here, so we set about plant- 

 ing on the level surface of the ground, just as we do 

 with all vegetables. Celery is a " gross feeder," and re- 

 quires an abundance of manure, which, as usual, must be 

 well mixed and incorporated with the soil, before the cel- 

 ery is set out. When the ground is well prepared, we 

 stretch a line to the distance required, and beat it 

 slightly with a spade, so that it leaves a mark to show 

 where to place the plants. These are set out at distances 

 of six inches between the plants, and usually four feet 

 between the rows. Great care must be taken in put- 



