i89o 
549 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Business. 
THE BUSINESS OF CELERY GROWING. 
The increase of the business of growing and marketing 
celery has been enormous. Many sections of country that 
were formerly regarded as worthless for agricultural pur¬ 
poses are now producing very profitable crops of this vege¬ 
table. The business is increasing year by year, and still 
the demand keeps well ahead of the supply. We give 
below a few facts about the industry that may prove in¬ 
teresting to those who are studying it with a view of em¬ 
barking in it. 
What the Dealers Have to Say. 
Considerable quantities of celery are coming from Michi¬ 
gan. A representative of S. Lichtenstein & Co., 81 Barclay 
street, who has been through the celery districts of that 
State, informs us that the famous Kalamazoo celery is 
losing favor. The best now comes from Tecumseh. The 
Kalamazoo growers are mostly Hollanders who have small 
holdings and little or no capital. Their celery was sold to 
shippers formerly at eight to 10 cents per dozen, but now 
it is selling at about 15 cents. This is barely enough to 
afford them a living and the land has been constantly de¬ 
creasing in producing capacity. At Tecumseh, the land is 
fresher and the growers have more capital and are doing 
business on a larger scale, so the land can be kept in a 
better state of fertility, and advantage can be taken 
of all improvements which are usually at the command 
of capital. The celery farms at Tecumseh are located on 
the dried-up bed of an ancient lake. The soil is a peaty 
muck, which is considered the ideal soil for growing celery. 
A number of years ago Mr. H. L. Stewart was struck with 
the apparent suitability of this location, and embarked in 
the business extensively, having now about 50 acres de¬ 
voted to it. The plants are set mostly on the surface, 
those intended for the early crop being set early and bleached 
by means of boards. This way of bleaching does not give 
celery of such good quality, but earth bleaching is likely to 
cause rust in hot weather. The celery to be stored for 
winter is not banked until late in the season, and then it 
is merely banked enough to cause the stalks to grow up¬ 
right. Much of the work has been done by hand, but ma¬ 
chines are being devised to save labor. Large quanti¬ 
ties of celery are stored to be shipped during the winter, 
the shipments often lasting until April, so that the market 
is provided with celery during almost the entire year. 
That which is stored is dug with as much root and adher¬ 
ing earth as possible, and is closely packed in frost-proof 
houses. When shipped, it is closely trimmed, being nearly 
ready for the table, and is packed in cases 34 by 30 by six 
inches in size, which weigh, when filled, from 70 to 90 
pounds. The best is sent to this and other Eastern mar¬ 
kets, the poorer grades being sent West. The White 
Plume is the leading variety cultivated. 
Mr. G. F. Fish, of Howells, Orange County, N. Y., a 
former Kalamazoo man, thoroughly posted in the culture 
of celery, is engaging in the business quite extensively on 
some of the reclaimed swamp land in that county. He 
tested it in a small way last year, and is satisfied that as 
good celery can be grown there as on the Michigan lands. 
Celery experts from Michigan have pronounced these 
lands equal to any in their State. Should the results prove 
the correctness of these predictions, a large amount of 
land can be turned to very profitable uses, and New York 
and other Eastern markets can secure a supply of this 
toothsome esculent from a nearby source. Mr. Fish grows 
his celery principally as the only crop, though he says 
peas might very profitably be grown as a first crop. A 
little commercial fertilizer is used to start the plants in 
the beds, but the main dependence in the field is fresh 
stable manure. The plants are set on the surface and the 
methods of culture and handling are those in vogue in the 
Michigan fields. 
How They Do It At Tecumseh. 
Success in raising this crop depends largely on two ele¬ 
ments, namely, water and manure. We raise 40 acres and 
our force averages 20 men, to whom we pay $1.50 per day, 
and four horses are required to do the team work. We cut 
with a spade but intend this fall to make a machine to cut 
with a horse. Eight men will cut and trim from 1,000 to 
1,200 dozen in 10 hours. We use the regular size case two 
feet high, 30 inches long and six inches wide, and these 
hold, according to the size of the celery, six dozen “fancy ” 
8 to 10 No. 1, and 12 dozen No. 2, weighing from 70 to 90 
pounds. Our store-houses are 28 by 100 feet, and one foot 
high under the eaves with roofs double-boarded and well 
covered with straw to keep out frost; five trap ventilators 
in the ridge of the roof are used in each house to regulate 
the temperature on warm days. Celery is stored by stak¬ 
ing a board 18 inches from the wall, the length of the house; 
on this a man kneels and takes the celery from a box that 
has been placed within his reach and places the roots close 
up together in this space, taking care that the roots all 
touch the ground and that the tops stand upright. The 
houses are filled this way from each side, leaving a small 
alley in the center for the inspector to walk through, 
as the ventilators are worked according to the condition of 
the crop. We have kept celery in these houses until April. 
E. J. Hollister. Manager Tecumseh Celery Co. 
Methods of Arlington, Massachusetts, Growers. 
Clean culture is necessary in growing celery, especially 
in its early stages. What is wanted is a stocky growth, 
with plenty of side shoots. Should the plants become en¬ 
veloped in weeds the growth will be drawn and spindling, 
and upon the removal of the weeds that have been allowed 
to get tall, the growth of the celery will be checked until 
new stocky leaf-stocks can be formed, and this delay puts 
it back very much. One should always strive for a short, 
stocky growth until the latter end of August. After that 
time .the cool nights will give it a rapid start and the 
banking of the most forward plants can be commenced by 
the middle of September. At this date it will hardly take 
10 days to complete the bleaching. 
As soon as the early crops have been cleared from between 
the celery rows, a furrow should be plowed away from each 
side of the row with a one-horse plow ; the furrows should 
not go nearer than 15 inches to each row. After plowing 
away, turn about and plow back, thus filling the furrow 
up again and continue to plow back until a dead furrow is 
made in the blank space between the rows. This operation 
will loosen the soil that the roots may expand, thus mak¬ 
ing a larger growth of top. 
The banking of celery is one of the laborious operations 
of the gardener. To render the soil for banking more easily 
handled, the one-horse plow is run between the rows. Two 
separate bankings will be required to complete the job. 
By the first the plants should be covered about half way 
up, and an interval of six days should pass before the 
second banking. The object of the first banking will be to 
run the hearts of the stocks up, which it does, as they try 
to get to the light and air. Very late in the fall, if the 
celery is to remain in the ground until Thanksgiving, a 
third banking will be required to insure that the tops shall 
not be injured by hard frosts. Banking can be best per¬ 
formed by employing three men at it. One straddles the 
row, walking backwards as he gathers together the 
branches or stocks of each individual plant, thus putting 
it in an upright position. The other two men, one on each 
side of the row, shovel the earth around the plants, care 
being taken that it does not get into the center of the 
hearts. 
Gathering and preparing celery for market are rather 
slow operations. The first move is to plow down the 
bankings with a one-horse plow. This having been done, 
the plow is run under the row of plants, lifting them from 
the ground. Most of the green leaves are then pulled off 
the plants, the blanched stocks only being left. The 
fibrous roots are next trimmed off with a long-pointed 
shoe-knife; great care should be exercised in trimming 
lest the sprouts should be cut. Two large wash-tubs, such 
as iron-bound hogsheads sawed in two, are used for wash¬ 
ing the celery. As the plants are trimmed, all the adher¬ 
ing dirt is washed off with the hands and corn brooms in 
tub No. 1, after which the plants are rinsed in tub No. 2; 
then they are laid upon a table to drain. In boxing, the 
demands of the market are that three dozen bunches 
should fill a barrel box even full; but as many plants will 
not count for one, several smaller ones are pinned to¬ 
gether by driving an eight-penny board nail through the 
lower stock or base of the root. 
The pitting of celery is rarely commenced until Novem¬ 
ber 1, and is finished by the middle of the month. If the 
operation is performed much earlier, there is danger that 
the mild weather will rot it. Previous to that date it 
keeps much better in the bankings, but these should be 
well built to prevent a possible hard freeze from destroy¬ 
ing the tops. It is common to leave in the bankings all 
that can be conveniently taken care of and sold at Thanks¬ 
giving time; but there is some risk in leaving it out so 
late; the ground sometimes closes in just previous to that 
date, so that the celery cannot be got out. 
For late keeping in the winter, celery should not be 
banked long previous to pitting—the greener it is the longer 
it can be kept. If, therefore, one commences banking about 
the middle of October he will be about right. The ground 
at that rime is quite cool and the celery bleaches slowly, 
therefore, it will be quite green at pitting time. Much de¬ 
pends upon its keeping well in the pit. It should be kept 
at as low a temperature as possible without risk of freezing; 
but should we want to market it early in the winter, the 
heat can be increased by putting on the roof of the pit a 
considerable thickness of litter or covering; otherwise only 
a very light covering should be used until Christmas. 
After that the covering should be Increased to about 
one foot in thickness. Celery when green will stand a 
light freeze; but the same freeze would destroy bleached 
celery. 
The pit is made by throwing up two bankings about two 
feet high from the soil between them; the width of the bank¬ 
ings apart will depend upon the length of the boards that 
are to cover the pit. It is common to use 12 by 1 foot rough 
pine boards for the roof. A ridge pole is made by standing 
along the center of the pit posts that support 4-by-4-inch 
joists. The ridge pole should be about four feet higher than 
the top of the bankings and as the 12 foot boards are put on 
each side of the ridge the roof will have pitch enough to 
carry off the water. The ends of the boards should extend 
to the outer sides of the bankings, thus preventing the 
rains from washing them down. The bankings on top 
should be 18 inches broad, which, allowing for their slant, 
will make a pit 20 feet wide and of a length sufficient to hold 
the crop. 
In pitting celery it should be lifted from the field and 
placed in the pit in an upright position and as close to¬ 
gether as possible. The roots should be covered with soil. 
All decayed leaves must be removed, otherwise it should 
go into the pit as it came from the field. e. p. k. 
IMPLEMENT NOTES. 
Falling Weight for Raising Water.— Looking over 
my old.papers, I find some one’s request for a plan to keep a 
supply of water for his dairy in the shape of a small, steady 
stream. It occurs to me that while working at my trade 
as a machinist, I have seen a plan that would suit him 
exactly. It (the plan) is rather out of season now, but is 
good enough to keep. It consists of a tower like a wind¬ 
mill tower, a heavy weight, and a set of multiplying gears. 
A steady team “ easy in the collars ” will raise the weight 
without trouble; then like a clock weight, as it falls it 
turns the gearings, and in turn these work the pumps. The 
latter should bs of.small size, and if everything„is light it 
can be run very slowly, and a very small quantity of water 
will be delivered. Of course, the length of time it will run 
depends on the weight (this can be a box of sand or stones), 
on the depth of the well, on the size of the pump, etc., etc. 
If the motion seems to be irregular, a governor can be 
easily constructed and the motion be perfectly controlled. 
The cost should not exceed one-half that of a wind-mill 
and pump. e. e. r. 
Grayson, Neb. 
Corn Husking Machine.—A corn husker made by the 
Keystone Manufacturing Company gives good satisfaction. 
The corn is husked and the stalks are crushed and shredded 
into such shape that they are easily handled and stored for 
feeding or bedding. 
Pulverizing Harrow. —Is there any pulverizing harrow 
that will do more and better work with a fair-sized team 
of horses than the Acme, all things considered ? h. o. 
Moselle, Me. 
Ans.— For preparing the surface of the soil, pulverizing 
it and fitting it for the seed, there is no tool that will com¬ 
pare with the Acme. Other tools may dig deeper and stir 
up the soil more thoroughly, but for fining and pulverizing 
the seed-bed, the Acme cannot be surpassed because that is 
its special line of work. 
Mules as “Strawsonizers.”—The R. N.-Y. has fre¬ 
quently called attention to the fact that we have no suit¬ 
able machine for distributing dry poisons. A number of 
manufacturers make fertilizer and lime distributors, but 
these are not very successful in dusting poisons. The 
“ Strawsonizer ” is an English machine designed for such 
work, but the manufacturers do not seem to have enter¬ 
prise enough to place it on the American market. The 
last bulletin of the Tennessee Experiment Station gives 
the following account of a method of applying dry Paris- 
green, or Paris-green mixed with flour, that is practiced in 
the Gulf States: “The simplest method used in these 
States is to suspend from each end of a pole eight feet long 
a bag, eight by 10 inches in size, made of eight-ounce Osna- 
burg. Pure, dry Paris-green is placed in the bags, the 
middle of the pole rests on the pommel of a mule’s saddle, 
and the mule is ridden between the rows of cotton. With 
an eight-foot pole, four to six rows of cotton can be poisoned 
at once. The amount of poison used can be increased by 
shaking the pole more, either by hand or by trotting the 
mule. This should be so regulated that about one pound 
is distributed to the acre. The poisoning may be done at 
any time during the day, although some prefer to do it 
when the plants are wet with dew or rain; but this does 
not seem to be at all necessary. A light wind does not 
interfere, and is thought by some to be an advantage; but 
a heavy wind prevents the successful application of the 
poison. This method is the best on small plantations, or 
in localities where the worm appears only occasionally, on 
account of there being no expensive apparatus to buy. By 
it a man and mule can poison from 15 to 20 acres per day. ” 
Ensilage and Feed Cutters.— Reports indicate that 
the demand for ensilage machinery will be good this year. 
While it is true that the hay crop is large—with a good 
surplus from last year—it is equally true that farmers are 
becoming more and more thoroughly convinced that they 
must provide succulent food with their hay and grain for 
profitable feeding. Many farmers have used roots with 
good success, but these cannot be grown successfully in all 
soils and climates, while even where they can be grown it 
has been abundantly proved that silage is not to be consid¬ 
ered a substitute for them, but rather a helper—they may 
both be profitably used on the same farm. These facts 
make it very probable that the demand for ensilage tools 
will be good. We frequently receive letters from parties 
who wish to know which is the “ best ” cutter and carrier 
on the market. We cannot answer. One man may be well 
satisfied with one cutter, while another would not use it. 
The manufacturers have about perfected their business. 
Each one of the different kinds possesses some distinct 
characteristic which was the outgrowth of a desire to do 
some special work to the best advantage. We always ad¬ 
vise an intending purchaser to find out what is claimed for 
each of these machines, then let him get the one that is 
best suited to his needs. The manufacturers issue cata¬ 
logues that fully illustrate and explain their machines. 
Send for them. Study the machines and see what they are 
guaranteed to do. Then see exactly what you have to do 
and buy the machine that comes nearest to fulfilling your 
wants. The following firms are fully reliable: Ames 
Plow Company, Boston, Mass. ; Minard Harder, Coble- 
skill, N. Y. ; Smalley Manufacturing Company, Manito¬ 
woc, Wis.; E. W. Ross & Co., Springfield. O. ; Belcher & 
Taylor, Chicopee Falls, Mass.; Silver & Deming Co., 
Salem, O. 
FARMING 900 ACRES AT A PROFIT IN 
WESTERN NEW YORK. 
CATTLE FEEDING. 
There was a time, and not so many^years ago either, when 
nearly every farmer in this State used to feed a few steers at 
least every winter, and some of the larger farmers would 
have a score or more of fine steers on hand constantly. 
Now all this is changed and one can drive for miles in 
many parts of Western New York without seeing a single 
steer. There must be a palpable reason for this change, 
and there is. Years ago, before the days of large cattle 
ranches in the West, when there were no dressed-meat 
houses in Chicago or Kansas City—in fact Kansas City 
was a hamlet then—New York farmers had no competi¬ 
tion, produced a good quality of beef, money was plenty, 
and, as a natural consequence of such a state of affairs,' 
cattle feeding was considered by all a most profitable 
branch of farming. But with the opening up of the new 
West, with its cheap land, cheap hay and corn, conse¬ 
quently cheap cattle, followed soon after by the immense 
dressed-meat houses owning trains of refrigerator cars,_by 
