JOURNAL OF 30RTICUL1URE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 9, 1885. 
281 
would find it advantageous not to sow until now, as the 
young plants start away much more freely and require less 
attention in April and May than they do in February and 
March. There are various ways of sowing the seed. If only 
a few dozen plants are required sow a pinch of seed in a 
6 or 8-inch pot. If one or two hundred plants are wanted 
they would be raised in a cutting box, and if some thousands 
are required we make up a gentle hotbed and sow the seed 
iu a one or two-light frame. In all cases soil consisting of 
fine loam and Mushroom bed refuse or leaf soil should ba 
used. Sow the seed thinly but evenly over the surface, and 
it may be covered to the depth of half an inch. Pots or 
boxes should be placed in a house or pit where the tem¬ 
perature is 65°. If sown in frames the lights may be drawn 
up or down on fine days, but not until the plants are above 
the soil. 
A favourite mode with me is raising the young plants in 
boxes, keeping them in these until about half a dozen leaves 
are formed, when a slight hotbed is made. The surface is 
covered with 6 inches depth of rich soil, a frame is put on 
and a light over it, and then the small seedliugs are dibbled 
all over the surface 3 or 4 inches apart. They remain there 
until they are transferred to the trenches, and as they are 
lifted with good balls of soil they very rarely fail. Indeed, 
out of 10,000 or more Celery plants put out in recent years 
we have not had fifty blanks from any cause, and I never 
look for or experience any Celery failures. This is mainly 
attributable to treating the young plants well when they are 
in the seed boxes and nursery beds, and care then will 
always be repaid. 
Excessive dryness at the root is ruinous to Celery at all 
times, especially when the roots are very small, and those 
who allow their seedlings to suffer in this way will find many 
of them start flower stems not long after they have been 
placed iu the trenches. A moderately rich soil and constant 
moisture at the root will unfailingly produce the best Celery. 
Some may think that it is only when the plants are large 
that they require the “ finishing touch,” but I would say it 
is at the beginning and not at the end that the most atten¬ 
tion is required. When the Reed is sown very thickly the 
plants generally come up in a dense mass, and then they are 
very liable to be tall and slender; but thi3 should be avoided, 
as spindly plants are never profitable. Thin sowing and 
timely transplanting will always prevent crowding. When 
the plants first appear they must not be kept in a dark 
situation, but they ought to be close to the glass and in full 
light. They are rather delicate at first, but they soon harden, 
and they should not be kept longer in a warm place than is 
sufficient to start them into growth freely. Sometimes when 
there has been no hotbed material to make up for the recep¬ 
tion of the plants I have dibbled them into boxes, but they 
were never so fine in them as in the beds, although I would 
use the boxes now if we had no beds. 
In cases of necessity Celery seed is sometimes sown 
in the open borders early in April, the plants being taken up 
and dibbled into nursery beds like Savoys. In favourable 
seasons and in good localities sturdy plants may be reared 
in this way, but they are not early nor so satisfactory as 
those raised in frames. In February last a great many 
Celery plants were growing where Celery seed was saved the 
previous autumn, but although these young plants looked all 
right, they could not be trusted to take their place as a 
main crop, as when the warm weather comes they will 
'start so suddenly into growth that three parts of them will 
flower before they are many inches in height. 
There are many good varieties of Celery, and all may be 
made superior or inferior by the culture afforded them. It 
is a good plan to select the cleanest part of the garden for 
the Celery crop. Old soil full of worms and grubs will never 
produce good Celery. In one part of our garden it would be 
severely eaten, and much of it would be hollow in the centre, 
while in another it would be free from spot or blemish and 
ound to the core. The latter is a poor light soil—too poor 
indeed for worms to exist in it, and we keep it poor except 
where the rows are planted. It is levelled when the trenches 
are finished or empty. A quantity of ashes is dug into the 
surface generally, but when the trenches are formed a large 
quantity of manure is put in the bottom of each. This is dug 
or forked in, and no more manure is required. No rich soil 
is needed for earthing up ; this is the worst kind which could 
be used, the poorer the better. 
The best of all manures for Celery is that from earth 
closets. Two years ago we planted some trenches, in one of 
which was used horse manure from the stables ; in another 
cow manure, and in a third earth-closet manure, and the 
latter not only produced the earliest Celery but the strongest 
and most satisfactory. The trenches may be formed now or 
at any time before the planting season, but the manure should 
not be forked into the bottom until immediately before 
planting. The most convenient way of growing Celery is to 
plant it in single rows in narrow trenches 3 feet or so apart; 
but two or three rows in a wider trench are easily managed. 
In planting always secure the plants with a ball of soil about 
the roots if possible. Let them well into the soil, and when 
planted tread the ground firmly with the feet, then water 
thoroughly, and a fin9 crop is sure to follow. 
Celery requires very careful earthing, and unless this be 
done in a way to prevent the soil falling into the centres 
of the plants, the produce, no matter how good it may be, 
will be spoiled. One of the best ways to avoid damage in 
earthing is to put the soil to the plants in very small quan¬ 
tities and at intervals of twelve or fifteen days. It is no use 
exhibiting Celery unless it has been properly earthed and 
turns out thoroughly blanched and spotless. This is of the 
utmost importance. 
I have never received more letters on any subject than 
have come to hand on the White Plume Celery since my 
notes appeared respecting it in the Journal, and it is sure to 
be extensively grown this season. The young plants of it 
ought to be raised like any other Celery, but when planting 
time comes do not put it in trenches but on the level ground, 
and by October it will be in excellent condition for the pantry 
or kitchen. In some parts this Celery might not qarove so 
hardy as the others, but for autumn and early winter use it 
merits attention.—J. Muir. 
THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. 
( Continued from page 2GS.) 
[An e33ayreal before tli9 Livarpaol Horticultural Association by Mr. 
A. Jamieson, Haigk Hall Gardens, Wigan.] 
Thinning the Fruits .—-Thinning is commenced as soon as the 
fruits are the size of peas, regulating them at proportionate dis¬ 
tances, leaving those best placed to catch the rays of the sun. 
1 think it would be best to thin severely at once, but confess I 
do not often do so, there is the fear of the stoning period. I 
believe if we had only the courage to remove a greater number 
earlier fewer would be lost during the stoning period, in many 
cases it is Nature’s way of getting rid of her too heavy burden. 
The question is often asked, How many shou'd we leave on our 
trees, or what do you consider a good crop P I have often read 
of astonishing crops, at least in number. I think one fine Peach 
is better than six small ones, and one fine fruit for every super¬ 
ficial foot is a really very good crop. Nectarines will of course 
carry a larger number, say about one-third more. 
Exposing the Fruit to the Sun .—I consider this is a great ad¬ 
vantage, as it gives them that beautiful tinge that is so delight¬ 
ful. When they are well on with the second swelling, and about 
two or three weeks before they will be ripe, I have a number of 
thin 'aths cut in lengths to reach from wire to wire ; these I place 
behind the fruits, and thus throw them out a little, pressing 
aside or removing any leaves that may be in the way. This 
brings all the fruits into view, and in the case of large trees well 
fruited presents a most pleasing sight 
Gathering .—I have often seen nets suspended to catch the 
falling fruits ; this is, I think, wrong, and worse than useless. 
The first fruit that falls may be all right, but the second and 
following ones generally roll up to and injure the preceding- 
But apart from this, i maintain that the Peach is in every 
respect better to be gai hared before it is dead ripe ; if left tiR 
