680 



ACETARIACEOUS ESCULENTS. 



and applied to the row in the next trench. It is scarcely necessary to observe, 

 that where there are two rows in a trench, both must be tied up at the same 

 time ; or that when the rows are made across a broad trench, three ought to 

 be tied, to prevent all risk of soil getting into the heart of the third row, 

 while the first is being earthed up. The height of the soil applied may be 

 three, four, or five inches, according to the height of the plants ; and the 

 earthings up may take place at intervals of ten days or a fortnight, till, by 

 degrees, the stalks are covered to the height of twelve inches for the earliest 

 crop, and eighteen inches, or two feet, or more, for the later crops ; always 

 taking care to perform the operation when the plants are quite dry, and to 

 keep the heart open and free ; except in the last earthing before winter, 

 when the summits of the plants may be nearly closed to exclude rain. The 

 longer celery is allowed to grow before applying the soil, the longer time 

 does it require to blanch ; but, in general, three weeks or a month will 

 effect this, more especially in the early part of the season. Red celery re- 

 quires a longer time to blanch than white celery, and never entirely loses 

 its red colour. The latest crop of celery which is to be in use through the 

 winter will require to be protected by dry litter, or thatched hurdles, during 

 severe frosts ; or it may be taken up and preserved in sand or soil, in a shed 

 or cellar. When celery is frozen, it begins to rot immediately after the first 

 thaw ; and therefore to prolong a crop in the open garden, protection of some 

 sort is essential on the approach of severe frosts. 



1518. Late spring celery. — As celery is in great demand for soups in 

 most families, especially during winter and spring, when other delicate 

 vegetables are scarce, a crop may be procured till the beginning of J une by 

 the following means : Sow on a seed-bed about the middle of May ; prick 

 out, when the plants are six weeks old, into rows six inches apart, and allow 

 the plants to remain in this nursery till September or October ; then trans- 

 plant them into trenches ; earth them up slightly, and protect them by litter 

 or thatched hurdles during winter; and in February or March earth them up 

 finally. The^stalks thus produced will not always be fit to use in salads, but 

 they will be valuable for soups and stews. No celery crop that has been 

 blanched in autumn will keep sound longer than the end of March ; but 

 green celery which has been only slightly earthed up will stand through an 

 ordinary winter with little or no protection. 



1519. Taking the crop. — The plants should be dug up without being 

 bruised, beginning at one end of a row ; and afterwards, the roots and green 

 points of the leaves being cut off, and the loose outer leaves removed, the 

 heart of the plant in a compact state is fit for being sent to the kitchen ; but 

 if intended for market, or to be sent to a distance, the outer leaves should be 

 kept on, and also all the root excepting the fibrous part. 



1520. Celeriac is cultivated with greater ease, and at less expense of ground 

 and manure, than the common celery ; and it may be used in the kitchen for 

 seven or eight months in succession. The times of sowing are the same as 

 for the other sorts, and the plants should be pricked out in a similar man- 

 ner. They should be divested of all side-slips, not only before transplant- 

 ing, but also during their aftergrowth. Early in June they may be finally 

 transplanted in rows fifteen inches apart every way, into flat beds of very 

 rich light or sandy soil, with two-feet alleys between, to admit of watering 

 the plants. The routine culture here consists chiefly in liberal waterings, 

 and in slightly earthing up the roots after they have swelled to their full size 



