CELERY 



473 



classes of people, the liome-gardener is likely not to attempt its culture; 

 yet it is not difficult to raise in small quantities in most any good 

 garden land. While the commercial celery is largely grown on re- 

 claimed swamp lands, such areas are not at all essential to its cultiva- 

 tion. 



The self-blanching varieties have simplified the culture of celery so 

 that the amateur, as well as the expert, may have a good supply at 

 least six months of the year. The so-called new culture, which con- 

 sists of setting the plants close together and causing them to shade each 

 other, can be recommended for the garden when a supply of well-rotted 

 manure is to had, and when any amount of water is available. This 

 method is as follows: Fork or spade into the soil a large quantity of 

 manure to the depth of 10 to 12 inches; pulverize the soil until 

 the ground for the depth of 4 to 6 inches is in very fine condition. 

 Then set the plants in rows 10 inches apart and the plants but 5 or 6 

 inches apart in the rows. It will be seen that plants set as close ^s 

 this will soon fill the soil with a mass of roots and must have large 

 amounts of plant-food, as well as a large quantity of water; and the 

 making of such a bed can be recommended only to those who can 

 supply these needs. 



The common practice in home gardens is to plow or dig a shallow 

 trench, setting the plants in the bottom and hoeing in the soil as the 

 plants grow. The distance apart of the rows and plants will depend 

 on the varieties. For the dwarf varieties, such as White Plume, Golden 

 Self-blanching, and others of this type, the rows may be as close as 

 3 feet and the plants 6 inches in the rows. For the large-growing 

 varieties, as Kalamazoo, Giant Pascal, and, in fact, most of the late 

 varieties, the rows may be 4| to 5 feet apart and the plants 7 or 8 

 inches in the row. 



The seed for an early crop should be sown in February or early in 

 March in shallow boxes, which may be placed in a hotbed or sunny 

 window, or sown directly in the soil of a hotbed. Cover the seeds 

 thinly and press the soil firmly over them. When the seedling plants 

 are about 1 inch high, they should be transplanted to other boxes 

 or hotbeds, setting the plants 1 inch apart in rows 3 inches apart. 

 At this transplanting, as with the following ones, the tall leaves should 

 be cut or pinched off, leaving only the upright growth, as with the ut- 



