§EE©-T!S1E ATO HARVEST, 
We have found girls 12 to 15 years of age 
the most skillful hands in pricking off 
young plants. They use a stick about 8 in¬ 
ches long, sharp at both ends, similar to an 
ordinary penholder if it was sharp at both 
ends, and made of the hardest hickory. 
They average 15 boxes per day of 10 hours, 
or about 3000 plants. 
The great risks attending the final care 
and blanching celery on a large scale in our 
climate will put it into the hands of the 
few, and the successful growers will find it 
profitable. 
Any florist, located in a town with from 
0 to 20 thousand population and whose 
business demands a salesroom in the busi¬ 
ness portion of the town, by building a ca¬ 
pacious ice box can find a profitable adjunct 
to his business in retailing celery, provided 
he can successfully grow it himself. No 
grocer nor oyster dealer can compete with 
him. 
W e never were able to find a satisfactory 
method of blanching it for early use until 
this fall. All the heretofore known meth¬ 
ods subjected us to so much loss by rust or 
decay, that, coupled with the light sales 
during the fall months, we gave it up as un¬ 
profitable in our warm climate. We have 
recently tried the ordinary brown straw 
paper that butchers use for wrapping up 
meat, with perfect success. A half sheet 
was wrapped neatly around each stock and 
tied near the top and also at the bottom. 
One man could tie up 300 in ten hours. 
Of course this is too slow for commercial 
work and I suggest that cheap straw 
board—such as hat boxes are made of—be 
run through a set of rollers adjusted like a 
wringer—first making the strawboard the 
proper size and damping it—so that it will 
dry in the shape of a tube. When wanted 
for use it could be sprung apart and the en¬ 
casing of the plant would be a very quick 
matter. And steel wire bent into an open 
ring could be used instead of tying materi¬ 
al. We used the same paper two and three 
times; and with proper care, believe the 
cardboard could be used a number of years. 
Two men could fix up at least 2000 per 
day in the way I suggest. It required from 
15 to 20 days to blanch with the paper, and 
was entirely free from rust or decay and 
very crisp. Your readers will no doubt 
keep in mind that the difficulties in grow¬ 
ing celery in inland districts and as far 
south as this are very much greater than 
in cooler latitudes; so that methods that 
may succeed there will not answer here. 
Finally if any matter on this subject as 
I have related it, is in doubt or obscurity to 
your readers, we will cheerfully answer let¬ 
ters of inquiry, provided a stamp is enclos¬ 
ed, and a blank space left after each query, 
not otherwise. 
Home-Mtule Fertilizer. 
The Boston Journal of Chemistry recom¬ 
mends as a cheap and reliable substitute 
for commercial fertilizers such as super¬ 
phosphates, &c.,the following combination, 
viz : 
Take one barrel of pure, raw, finely 
ground bones, and one barrel of the best 
wood-ashes; mix them on a floor, and add 
gradually three pailfuls of water, mixing 
thoroughly with the hoe. Use in small 
quantities in about the same manner as the 
superphosphates. If the ashes cannot be 
procured, dissolve twelve pounds of potash 
in ten gallons of hot water, and with this 
solution saturate the bone flour thoroughly; 
a barrel of dry peat or good loam, without 
stones, may be added The mixture should 
not be sticky, neither too moist nor too dry. 
In applying it avoid direct contact with the 
seed; for instance, when applied in the hill 
scatter a little earth over it before dropping 
the seed. A very early visible effect should 
not be anticipated, but the good results will 
manifest themselves as the season advances. 
Hints about Flowers. 
The ai t of arranging bouquets is very 
simple. Having collected the flowers to be 
used on a tray, all the superfluous leaves 
should be stripped from the stems, and, by 
placing the flowers side by side, you can 
easily see the order in which they can be 
most advantageously displayed. A very 
pretty hand bouquet can be made by taking 
a small straight stick, not over a quarter of 
an inch in diameter Tie a string to the 
