Celery a aid Onions on a Muck Soil. 
A correspondent of the Fruit Recorder 
writing from Kinsman, Ohio, says they 
grow celery there on drained muck land at 
a cosr. of less than $1 50 f«er thousand, and 
he gives these useful particulars of his own 
experience : 
‘‘An acre of muck, ditch with sloping 
sides inward all around, water constant in 
ditch. The acre sowed to rnions in March, 
omitting every fifth row, and leaving space 
fora double row, of celery, that is, two 
rows six inches apart. So the cultivation 
•of the onions has prepared the ground. 
Preparation no expense. April 1st, 1881. 
sowed seed dry as I walked around on the 
sloping sides of ditch. Seed cost $ 1.25. I 
had, July 1st, plants from which I selected 
20,000. That is six cents per thousand for 
plants. (A neighbor had 7,000 plants 
from one-third ounce of seed—thousand- 
of celery plants are grown for two cents 
per thousand.) I had a boy take up the 
plants and distribute them fourind es apart 
in double rows, six inches apart and set 
them in the ground, 4,000 in five hours, 
and not ten wilted that day. The roots 
were dipped in paste. Tlp-ee days at $1.50 
for two of us, sets out the 20 000, and now 
the celery has cost 2>4 cents per thousand. 
We bank it twice; each time as rapidly as 
we set—once in August, once in September, 
and at the final covering it has cost 88 cents 
per thousand. The purchaser agrees to 
take the celery at the gate, providing his 
own crates, and inside of the $1.50, there 
remains 52 cents per thousand to dig it from 
the bank row in November and December, 
wash it and lay it in the crates, the dealer 
attending to the bunching. He pays at the 
gate $80 pei thousand—bunches it, ships it, 
delivering at the cars* for $52 per thousand. 
You can see this thing done every year at 
these figures.” 
Of his onion crop he gives also some 
interesting notes, especially as to the way 
of avoiding the tedious “hand and knee 
work” generally supposed to be insep¬ 
arable from the culture of this crop: 
“Every Monday morning from May to 
August we cultivated the ground—weeds 
or no weeds, but usually no weeds. I have 
sowed four pounds salt per acre, in March: 
this helped to keep out weeds. The week¬ 
ly cultivation, kept up all summer, permit¬ 
ted but few weeds to grow, and these were 
pulled from an upright position. My 
onions are much earlier for the frequent 
hoeing. I can have them in market two 
weeks ahead, and one inch diameter ahead, 
of onions gown among weeds. My neigh¬ 
bor used 40 loads barnyard well rotted 
manure, last fall. He intends using one 
ton bone-meal this fall on the same acre, 
and not a weed will be allowed to go to 
seed on his acre or mine.” 
Potatoes for Planting. 
BY N. ,T. SHEPHERD. 
The careful farmer knows that much 
depends upon the quality of the seeds that 
he plants. 
The fact that seed will germinate is not 
all that is necessary. 
There are many seeds of plants that we 
would not sow even knowing that their 
vitality was of the very best quality. 
There are two things that I have learned 
fully by experience, and they are that by 
indifferent selections of what are reserved 
for seed, taking no particular pains to 
select the best, but rather taking those we 
do not care to eat or sell, as many farmers 
are often induced to do with potatoes, 
planting those that are too small to either 
eat or sell. Seeds sown in this way are 
sure to deteriorate, and if kept up fof any 
considerable length of time, is sure to cause 
a serious difference in the yield. 
The other, is that by using good judg¬ 
ment in the selection of seed, selecting only 
the very best, and with good, medium 
sized, smooth potatoes from hills that have 
yielded well, will at least keep up the qual¬ 
ity of the seed; and if extra care is given, 
not only in the selection of the seed, but 
also in the selection and preparation of the 
soil, a gradual improvement can be made. 
If your potatoes are not of the best, pur¬ 
chase good stock from some reliable seeds¬ 
man. Select at least three good varieties, 
early, medium and late. If you are not 
able to do more, get at least a sufficient 
