24 BULLETIN 601, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
lettuce drop and is said to be due to the same organism. Signs of 
it in storage are often first found on the leaves. It causes a soft, 
slimy decay that may consume the leaves entirely before seriously 
injuring the celery stalks. The disease causes the stalks to become 
discolored and watery and renders them unfit for consumption. 
Forms of this disease are encountered frequently in the field. The 
common foot-rot is said to be due to the same or a closely related 
organism. 
Heart-rot is a term used to describe the darkening of the leaves 
and stalks forming the central bud or heart of the plant. This 
part first turns brown and later black, as the trouble develops. 
Heart-rot is found very often in the celery fields, especially late in 
the season. It appears to originate in the field, although some 
plants may have merely a predisposition to the disease at the time 
PREC00LED NONPRECOOLED 
PER CENT OFCAY PER CENT DECAY 
25 20 15 10 S OS 10 IS JO 2S 30 SS 40 45 
SO FT- ROT 
STORED TWO WEEKS 13.6 I 
IIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIII11IIIIIIIII5.3 STORED FOUR WEEKS 3S4 IIIIIIII I IIII 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 H T 1 1 1 1 m 1 1 1 1 1 ] 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ll | l | | 
HEART- ROT 
OH4' STORED TWO WEEKS 6.5 ■■^■i 
11 1 1 11 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 111 S.S STORED FOUR WEEKS )3.4I I III IIII I III llll l II ll llll 
TOTAL DECAY 
10.8 STORED TWO WEEKS 
IIIIIII1MIIIHIIIP22.7 STORED FOUR WEEKS 437 11111 I I I l ll l I Ml ll ll IHHUMI! I I H II IHI II I I U I IIHW I 1 I I I H 1 1 rnPTTT 
Fig. 17.— Diagram illustrating the percentages of soft-rot, heart-rot, and total decay at the end of two 
weeks and at the end of four weeks in storage at 32° F. in both precooled and nonprecooled celery 
shipped from Manatee, Fla., to New York, season of 1915. 
they are cut and show' no signs of it. It does not appear to spread to 
adjoining bunches in storage, but its development seems to bear some 
relation to the temperature to which it is exposed. 
Leaf-spot also is a serious trouble, especially if celery is affected 
before being harvested. It frequently develops to an injurious ex- 
tent in storage and is sometimes the cause of serious losses. Every 
effort should be made to control the leaf-spot and other diseases 
in the field through proper spraying and cultural practices. Celery 
entering storage in a diseased condition can not be held satisfactorily, 
even under the most favorable temperature and storage conditions. 
RESULTS OF STORAGE EXPERIMENTS. 
Summaries of the average results of the inspection of all the experi- 
mental lots of celery are given in the following tables and diagrams. 
Table X and figure 17 show a comparison of the decay in the pre- 
cooled and nonprecooled celery. The principal point brought out 
