472 



THE NEW CELERY-CULTURE. 



store of starchy matter. When the potato sprouts, this 

 store of starch is changed by a peculiar unorganized fer- 

 ment into a kind of sugar, which the plant can use as 

 food. This change in a sprouting potato is shown at once 

 when it is cooked for the table. It is no longer dry and 

 starchy, but clammy and sweetish. Now, when pota- 

 toes sprout in the cellar before planting time, these 

 sprouts are rubbed off and the future growth is to some ex- 

 tent weakened, for these first sprouts are the growth of the 

 strong terminal bud of the shoot, and all subsequent 

 growth must come from the lateral and weaker buds on 



the shoots. The northern potatoes sent south for plant- 

 ing have nearly always been injured in this way while 

 the late home-grown crops have not started an eye. 

 Therefore when the home-grown ones are planted the 

 growth comes from the full strength of the terminal bud, 

 with all the stored-up food in the potato, and is much 

 more vigorous and able to withstand the fickle weather 

 of our early spring. This matter of extra robustness and 

 ability to withstand sudden changes is one of the most 

 important items. — W. F. Masscy, in Bulletin of N. C. 

 Affriciitliiyal Experiment Station. 



THE NEW CELERY-CULTURE.- 



HOW TO GROW FINE CROPS WITHOUT BANKING. 



TARTING THE PLANTS. — For early 

 celery, seed of White Plume or Golden 

 Self-blanching is sown in February in 

 flats two and one-half inches deep, con- 

 taining about two inches of loam. The 

 surface of the latter is packed down, the 

 seed is sown, pressed into the soil, and 

 covered with about an eighth of an inch 

 of loam. It is then watered, and the 

 flats are piled on top of each other to 

 keep the soil moist. In about six days they are taken 

 down, watered, and piled up again, to remain until the 

 seed begins to sprout, which one may expect in from ten 

 days to two weeks. The flats are then spread out so 

 that the sprouting seed can get sun and air. At this 

 time great care is necessary to keep the sprouting seed 

 from drying up. Two hours under glass in the hot sun 

 may destroy the plants, and yet sun and air are just 

 what they need to make them stocky and vigorous. 



When the plants are about one or one and one-half 

 inches high prick them out into flats filled with good, 

 rich loam two to three inches deep, or set in the garden 

 if the weather is suitable, from two and one-half to three 

 inches apart. Great care must be taken at all times to 

 give the plants water enough to prevent them from wilt- 

 ing. When they are from two to three inches high I 

 scatter about two tablespoonfuls of Stockbridge celery- 

 fertilizer on every 75 or 100 plants. Scatter the fertil- 

 izer on the plants when the foliage is dry ; then brush 

 it off with a broom or the hand. 



PREPARING THE GROUND. 



Soil should be well enriched for celery-growing. A 

 crop of celery cannot be injured by too much manure, 

 provided it gets plenty of water also. Plow the manure 

 under, or, in a garden, spade the ground, carefully turn- 

 ing all the manure under. Then scatter about 1,500 

 pounds of celery-fertilizer to every acre, harrow and 

 rake the ground level. If the soil is a light loam, roll it 

 with a heavy roller. A board will serve for firming a 

 small patch. Raking the ground smooth saves much 



* Condensed from pamphlet " The New Celery Culture," published 

 by The Rural Publishing Company, New York city. Price, 20 cts. 



labor. If the ground is level and well pulverized, you 

 can run the knives of the wheel-hoe very near the plants, 

 save much hand-weeding, and the hoe can be run much 

 faster. 



For all kinds of vegetables — beets, carrots, onions, etc. 

 — a thorough raking, which pulverizes and levels the 

 ground, not only saves labor but also increases the pro- 

 duct. A wheel-hoe cannot be advantageously used if the 

 ground is lumpy, stony or uneven. In the farming of 

 the future the wheel-hoe is destined to become a very 

 important implement. 



SETTING THE PLANTS. 



Mark off the ground in rows seven inches apart, and 

 with a dibble or trowel set out the plants — from three to 

 six inches high — seven inches apart, straight in the rows. 

 If they are half an inch from a straight line, either to the 

 right or left, they are in danger of being cut off by the 

 knives of the wheel-hoe. Press the ground firmly about 

 the roots. If the weather is warm and dry, water well 

 after the plants have been set out, giving the ground a 

 good soaking to keep them from wilting. 



When the weeds begin to appear, run the wheel-hoe 

 through the rows. The knives are too long for rows 

 seven inches apart ; cut them off about five inches from 

 the center of the hoe. There will then be two inches 

 between the ends of the knives and the next row. After 

 you have gone through one way, let the crop stand a day 

 or two before going through the other way. Four to six 

 days afterward go through again. Use the wheel-hoe 

 frequently and you will be agreeably surprised at the 

 large amount of hand-weeding that is avoided. 



When the plants are about half-grown, scatter broad- 

 cast about 1,200 pounds of fertilizer to the acre. Do 

 not do this when the foliage is wet. I have never dis- 

 covered any injury from using fertilizer, even on tender 

 plants, when the foliage was dry. 



The plants are now so large that the hoe cannot be 

 run through them. They cover the ground, preventing 

 the weeds from growing, except a few that started be- 

 fore the celery. Now, as you look over the field, you 

 can readily realize that the crop is very large — 126,000 

 plants on an acre. The soil is full of working roots that 



