S18 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[JULT 
a great variety, and prefers the Periwinkle 
(Vinca minor), or Jloney-wort {Lysimachia nuin- 
mularia), for trailing over the edge of the vase 
and some of the dwarf Lobelias for the centre.— 
In the way of rustic seats, we have quite a novel 
and easily executed design communicated by 
C. E. Townsend, of Queens Co., N. Y., whose 
very clever sketch we have had engraved. Two 
log-cuts, with the bark on, 2 feet long, ai^d 
about 20 inches in diameter, are used for the 
supports to the seat, which is a plank 14 inches 
wide and 6 feet long. Grooves are made in the 
logs at 8 inches from the top to receive the seat. 
Beneath the seat is a curtain sawed out of a 
10-inch board, and which is held in place by 
longitudinal grooves in the logs, under the 
middle of the seat. The whole readily comes 
apart, and it ma\^ be taken in pieces, and housed 
in the winter. The plan here given is very 
simple and unpretending, and in many situations 
would be all that is required for a lawn seat. 
The Culture of Celery. 
By Peter Henderson, Jersey City, N. J. 
I know of no vegetable on the cultivation of 
which there is so much useless lalwr expended 
with such unsatisfactory results, as celery. Al¬ 
most all private cultivators still think it mcces- 
sary to dig otit trenches, from six to twelve 
inches deep, involving great labor and expense, 
and giving a very inferior crop to that planted 
on the level surfirce, in the manner practised on 
hundreds of acres by the market gardeners in 
the vicinity of New York. 
Our manner of treating the celery crop, of 
late years, is very much simplified. Instead of 
sowing the seed in a hot bed or cold frame, as 
formerly, it is sown in the open ground as soon 
as it is fit to work in April, and ke{>t carefully 
clear of weeds until the time of planting in June 
and July. The tops are shorn off once or 
twice before planting, so as to ensure “stocky ” 
plants, which suffer less on being transplanted. 
Celery is always grown as a “ second crop” by 
the market gardeners, that is, it follows after the 
spring crop of beets, onions, cabbage, cauliflow¬ 
er or peas, which are cleared off and marketed, 
at latest, by the middle of July; the ground is 
then thoroughly plowed and harrowed. No 
additional manure is used, as enough remains 
in the ground, from the heavy coat it has 
received in the spring, to carry through the 
crop of celery. After the ground has been 
nicely prepared, lines are struck out on the 
level surface, 3 feet apart, and tl»e plants set 6 
inches apart in the I'ows. If the weather is dry 
at the time of planting, great care should be 
taken that the roots are properly “ firmed.” 
Our custom is, to turn back on the row, and 
press by the side of each plant gently with the 
foot. This compacts the soil and partially ex¬ 
cludes the air from the root until new rootlets 
are formed, which will usually be in 48 hours, 
after which all danger is over. This practice of 
pressing the soil closely around the roots is 
essential in planting of all kinds, and millions 
of plants are annually destroyed by its omission. 
After the planting of the celery is completed, 
nothing further is to be done for six or seven 
weeks, except running through between the 
rows with the cultivator or hoe, and freeing the 
plants of weeds until they get strong enough to 
crowd them down. This will bring us to about 
the middle of August, by which time w'e have 
usually that moist and cool atmosphere essen¬ 
tial to the growth of celery. Then we begin 
the “ earthing up.” necessary for blanching or 
whitening that which is wanted for use during 
the months of September, October and Novem¬ 
ber. The first operation is that of “ handling,” 
as we term it, that is, after the soil has been 
drawn up against the plant with the hoe, it is 
further drawn close around each plant by the 
hand, firm enough to keep the leaves in an up¬ 
right position and prevent them from spreading, 
which will leave them as shown in fig. 1. 
This being done, more soil is drawn against the 
row (either by the plow or hoe, as circum¬ 
stances require), so as to keep the plant in this 
upright position. The blanching process must 
however be finished by the spade, which is done 
by digging the soil from between the rows and 
banking it up clear to the top on each side of the 
row of celery, as in fig. 2. Three feet is ampie 
disUince between the dwarf varieties, but when 
“Seymour’s Superb,” “Giant,” or other large 
sorts are used, the width of the rows must be 
at least four and a half or 
five feet, thereby entailing 
much more labor and loss 
of groiind. For the past six 
years I have grown none 
but the dwarf varieties, and 
have saved in consequence 
at least one half in labor, 
and one third in ground, 
while the average price per root m market has 
been always equa. and occasionally higher than 
for the tall growing sorts. 
The preparation of the soil and planting of 
celery for winter use, is the same in all respects, 
except that, what is intended for W'inter should 
never be “banked up” with the spade. It 
merely requires to be put through the handling 
process, to put it in a compact and upright 
position preparatory to being stowed away in 
winter quarters. This should not be done be¬ 
fore the middle of September, or just long 
enough before the celery is dug up to keep it in 
the upright position. Our manner of preserving 
it during winter is now very simple, but as the 
knowledge of the process is yet quite local, be¬ 
ing confined almost exclusively to the Jersey 
market gardeners, I will 
endeavor to put it plain 
enough, so that 5 mur 
readers “ may go and do 
so likewise.” In this lo¬ 
cality we begin to dig up 
that which we intend for 
winter use, about the end 
of October, and continue 
the work (always on dry days) until the 20th or 
25th of November, which is as late as we dare 
risk it out for fear of frost. Let it be understood 
that celery will stand quite a sharp frost, say 
10 or even 15 degrees, while 20 or 25 de¬ 
grees will destroy it. Hence experience has 
taught us that the sharp frosts that we usually 
Iiave during the early part of November, rarely 
hurt it, though often causing it to droop flat on 
the ground, until thawed out by the sun. It 
must, however, never be touched when in the 
frozen state, or it is almost certain to decay. 
The ground in which it is placed for winter use 
should be as dry as possible, or if not dry, so 
arranged that no water will remain in the 
trench. The trench should be dug as narrow 
as possible, not more than 10 or 12 inches wide, 
and of the depth exactly of the height of the 
celery; that is, if the plant of the celery be two 
feet in length, the depth of the drain or trench 
should be two feet also. The celery is now 
placed in the trench as near perpendicular as 
possible, so as to fill it up entirely, its green 
Fig. 2.— EARTHING. 
tops being on a level with the top of the trench. 
Fig. 3 represents a section across a trench filled 
with celery in the manner just described. 
No earth whatever is put to tlie roots other 
than what may adhere to 
them after being dug up. 
It being closely packed 
together, there is moisture 
enough always at the bot¬ 
tom of the trench to keep 
the plant, at the cool sea¬ 
son of year, from wilting. 
That which is put in 
trenches about the 25lh of 
October, is usually ready to be taken iqi for 
use about the 1st of December, that a couple of 
weeks later, by 1st January, and the last (which 
we try always to defer to 15th or 20th Novem¬ 
ber) may be used during the winter and until 
the 1st of April. For the first lot no covering 
is required, but that for use during the winter 
months must be gradually covered up from the 
middle of December, on until 1st of Januaiy, 
when it will require at least a foot of covering 
of some light, dry material—hay, straw, oi’ 
leaves—the latter perhaps the best, I have sain 
the coveriiig up should be gradual. This is 
very important, for if the full weight of cover¬ 
ing is put on at once, it prevents the passing otl 
of the heat generated by the closely packed 
mass of celeiy, and in consequence it to some 
extent “ heats,” and decay takes place. Covered 
up in this manner it can be got out with ease, 
during the coldest weather in wdnter, and with 
perfect safety. 
It may be interesting to some to know what 
are the profits of this crop. I have cultivated 
an average of 10 acres of it for the past IG years, 
and can speak from this experience. For many 
years in the early part of that time, it was by 
no means what we would now call a profitable 
crop. By persisting in raising the large grow¬ 
ing sorts, and the awkward and expensive 
mode we had then of working it, w'e were sat¬ 
isfied if it gave us a profit of $50 or $75 per 
acre. But for the last six or eight years, by 
adopting the flat culture, and the drain or 
trench system for winter storage, it has done 
much better, and is now a very profitable “ sec¬ 
ond crop,” averaging a clear profit of $300 jrer 
acre, though it rarely brings over $3 per 100 
roots. No doubt, in many parts of the country 
it would be much more profitable than in the 
crowded markets of New York. It is shipped 
from here in all directions; to Philadelphia 
(largely), Baltimore and Washington, (South,) 
and to Newport, Providence, Hartford and 
New Haven, (East.) It is a bulky and expensive 
article to ship, and the dealer must realize more 
than double on the purchase, or it will not pay 
his risk. It must thus cost the consumer, in 
these towns to which we send it, 8 or 10 cents 
a head, a price at which it would pay a clear 
profit of $1000 per acre. 
Double-working Pear Trees.— In discus¬ 
sions about fruit it is frequently stated that a 
certain variety will only succeed on quince stock 
when “double worked.” As this is quite a 
technical expression, some of our readers ask 
us to explain what it means. The readiness 
with which different kinds of pears will unite 
with the quince stock varies greath"^, as does their 
after growth and vigor when the union has ta¬ 
ken place. Double w'orking consists simply in 
budding the quince stock with a kind of pear 
that is known to succeed well upon it, letting it 
grow to the desired size, and then budding 
Fig. 3. —STORING. 
