72 



Some Observations on Celeriac. 



wet ditches, and watery places. In its wild state, the herb 

 is peculiarly acrid, and disagreeable to the taste ; but the im- 

 proved varieties have lost these noxious qualities, probably, 

 in a great measure, from their being cultivated without ex- 

 cess of moisture. The Celeriac, however, when very large, 

 I have found, if eaten raw, retains its hurtful properties : in 

 those countries, therefore, where it is much used, as a vege- 

 table for the table, it is always previously boiled. 



I have been favoured, by Earl Stanhope, with the fol- 

 lowing account of the cultivation of this root, in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Dresden ; in which it will be observed, that the 

 peculiarity of the treatment consists in the frequent applica- 

 tion of water, the omission of which may have caused the 

 failure of former attempts, to bring the plant to perfection, 

 in England. It requires a rich, well manured soil ; and the 

 seeds are to be sown in February, or March, on a hot- 

 bed, under glass ; and the plants are to be removed, in 

 April, when they are two or three inches high, to another 

 hot-bed, and set one inch and a half apart. In the begin- 

 ning, or middle of June, they are transplanted into a flat 

 bed, in the open air, at the distance of 15 inches from each 

 other, and not in trenches, like other Celery. They must 

 be abundantly watered,* as soon as they are set out, and 

 the watering must be repeated, every other day, or, if the 



* Since this Paper was read to the Society, Mr. Hunneman has informed 

 me, that, in the ordinary cultivation of the plant, in Germany, it is not watered 

 more frequently than other vegetables ; but then it does not attain the size, that I 

 have described. He considers the plan of giving excess of water as peculiar, and 

 that the vigorous growth of the plant is more dependant on richness of soil, than on 

 any other cause. 



