1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



3 



CELERIAC. 



The Turnip-root Celery, under which name 

 this variety of Celery is generally sold, is 

 comparatively little known outside of our 

 large city markets, while on the continent of 

 Europe it is grown to the almost entire ex- 

 clusion of the stalk kinds. In these two 

 varieties of the same species it is amply 

 shown how much systematic and persistent 

 cultivation can accomplish in the develop- 

 ment of special and different characteristics. 

 While in the one the vital energj r of the plant 

 ■becomes directed to the development of the 

 leaves, in the other it is turned to the en- 

 largement of its roots. 



In Celeriac, the production of large, tender 

 roots is the object to be attained. These 

 roots, which are irregularly round, of the size 

 of a large Turnip, white outside and inside, 

 and of a texture similar to Parsnips, are 

 principally used as a salad. They are boiled 

 like Beets, peeled, sliced and dressed with 

 vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. A favor- 

 ite way of serv- 

 ing this salad is 

 to arrange it in 

 the center of a 

 dish, and sur- 

 round it with a 

 broad rim of red 

 Cole-slaw, edged 

 with some leaves 

 of Corn - salad, 

 the contrasting 

 colors of red, 

 green, and white 

 making an orna- 

 mental and at- 

 tractive dish. 



The sowing of 

 the seed, trans- 

 planting and aft- 

 er-management, 

 differ but little 

 from that of com- 

 mon Celery, ex- 

 cept that, as it 

 requires not to 

 be hilled-up, it 

 may be planted 

 closer, placing 

 the rows two 

 feet apart and 

 setting the 

 plants a, foot 



apart in the rows. It should be cultivated 

 entirely flat, and banking-up would seriously 

 injure its root growth. To obtain large and 

 tender roots, the soil must be loose, deep, 

 and moderately rich, and in dry seasons a 

 thorough soaking of water should be given 

 every two or three days. The roots are not 

 injured by light frosts, but they are not 

 hardy enough to winter out-doors, and should 

 therefore be heeled-in in a cool cellar, or 

 kept in boxes covered with soil or sand. 



There is but little difference in the varie- 

 ties hitherto cultivated, the superiority of 

 one over another consisting mainly in the 

 careful selection of the choicest roots for 

 seed growing. 



The Apple-shaped variety is considered the 

 best for general cultivation. 



Among the most highly recommended nov- 

 elties for the coming season, however, we 

 notice a variety introduced by Mr. Chr. Lo- 

 renz, of Erfurt, Germany, which has created 

 quite a sensation in Europe, and which is 

 claimed to possess, not only roots of good 



size and quality, but the additional attraction 

 of variegated, ornamental leaves. 



The Three-colored Celeriac, as the variety 

 is named, is described, as in general, to 

 resemble the old, well-known Soup-Celery, 

 but its vigorous leaves of a deep, glossy 

 green are richly and most elegantly streaked 

 with a silver-gray hue in the center of the 

 leaflets, and margined with a broad creamy- 

 white ' edging. This arrangement of colors 

 makes the variety admirably adapted for 

 effective groups, the beautiful appearance 

 producing a striking contrast to other plants, 

 especially in the autumn when the petioles 

 assume a violet-red tint, so that the plant 

 becomes a true quadrieolor. 



For the decoration of dishes, and other 

 table embellishments, leaves of this kind 

 seem to be particularly appropriate. Our 

 illustration represents correctly the form and 

 general character of the plant, but only a 

 colored plate could give an approximate idea 

 of its brilliant effect. 



THE THREE-COLORED CELERIAC. 



FORCING TOMATOES. 



As the production of Tomatoes during 

 winter is frequently and favorably com- 

 mented upon, the description and manage- 

 ment of a block of houses which I designed 

 and built on an estate where Tomatoes were 

 forced successfully, may be of interest to 

 many readers. 



Each house was nine feet eight inches 

 wide by about fifty-one feet long, and six 

 feet ten inches from the path to the tie-rods 

 of the rafters. The full height from ground 

 to ridge-piece being seven feet eight inches, 

 left room to carry the pipes below the path- 

 ways, which were of wooden slats, and car- 

 ried on the uprights supporting the beds, 

 which were three feet four inches wide, 

 leaving a three-feet path in the center ; a 

 wheelbarrow could be worked in these paths, 

 and the soil easily moved in or out. The 

 pitch of the roof was about forty-five de- 

 grees, and the ridge ran due north and 

 south. Some of the houses had beds formed 

 by eight and a half inch brick walls, carried 



two feet eight inches above the path, and 

 these were sometimes used for Tomatoes, 

 but more commonly for flowering plants 

 requiring a cool bottom. The houses were 

 heated with from six to nine four-inch 

 pipes each, those with the most pipe being- 

 designed for midwinter work, and also for 

 forcing Cucumbers, if required. The pipes 

 were half under the path and half under the 

 bed or beds admitting them. The Tomato- 

 houses could be maintained at sixty to sixty- 

 five degrees, when the temperature outside 

 was fifteen degrees below zero. 



The variety generally forced was the 

 Trophy. The soil was two-thirds rotted sod, 

 from a limestone loam, and one-third leaf 

 soil and rotten manure in equal proportions, 

 with river sand enough to keep all open ; it 

 was always used quite rough, but well in- 

 corporated. Cuttings were put into four- 

 inch pots about the 1st of September, from 

 which fruit always ripened before Christmas. 

 The rafters were wired longitudinally, the 

 wires running 

 about ten inches 

 from the glass. 

 The routine con- 

 sisted of tying, 

 watering well 

 once a week, syr- 

 inging twice, and 

 smoking twice. 

 Fertilization was 

 often practised 

 during dull wea- 

 ther, the pollen 

 losing its buoy- 

 ancy under such 

 conditions. The 

 shoots, the bun- 

 ches of fruit, and 

 sometimes the 

 flowers, were 

 properly thinned, 

 and a minimum, 

 temperature of 

 sixty degrees for 

 night, sixty-five 

 to sixty-eight de- 

 grees for cloudy, 

 and sixty - eight 

 to ninety degrees 

 for sunny days 

 was maintained, 

 giving air at 

 sixty-eight to seventy-five degrees. 



James Macpherson. 



WATER-ORESS IN HOT-BEDS. 



Where warm springs can be utilized, or 

 sufficient protection can be given to the beds, 

 Water-cress may be had all winter, but even 

 those who are not so fortunately situated 

 need not be deprived of this luxury, in re- 

 lation to which a correspondent of the Gar- 

 dener's Monthly says: "Although Cress is 

 considered amphibious, it thrives best in an 

 ordinary hot-bed, from October until April, 

 and requires no transplanting. I whitewash 

 the glass, and give very little air except 

 when raining, to save watering, which it 

 requires once a week. A full crop can be 

 cut every three weeks. I generally cut one- 

 third of a sash at the time, and so always 

 get a succession. About the first of April a 

 quantity of plants should be transferred to 

 some cool, wet place, to live during summer 

 and be ready for the hot-bed in the fall." 



