1900. 
945 
THE RURAL, NEW-YORKER 
A CELERY GROWER TALKS. 
Just across the Susquehanna River 
from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, lies 
an area of splendid bottom land. The 
soil is a typical river deposit, is quite 
sandy, and almost ideal in physical quali¬ 
ties, though not particularly rich in it¬ 
self. R. H. Garrahan operates a farm of 
about 60 acres of this land; although 
practically in the city, with rent accord¬ 
ingly high he finds it most profitable 
under modern scientific methods. Mr. 
Garrahan was at the Pennsylvania State 
College a few weeks ago, and Prof. 
Watts, as is his custom when practical 
men are available, took him before a 
class of juniors and seniors in vegetable 
growing. As celery is Mr. Garrahan’s 
main crop, lie gave most of his attention 
to methods used in its production. Ques¬ 
tions were freely asked and a summary 
of his remarks is here given. 
Celery may be grown on any soil 
from sand to clay, provided other con¬ 
ditions are made right. Success is large¬ 
ly a matter of fertility and moisture. 
On the Garrahan farm fertility is main¬ 
tained by the use of cover crops, mine 
manure, and commercial fertilizers. 
Crimson clover and rye are the stand¬ 
ard humus-making crops, with the lat¬ 
ter preferred. The clover is of value as 
a nitrogen gatherer, but unless it can be 
sown earlier than is possible on high- 
priced and intensively farmed land, the 
gain does not cover the extra cost of 
seed. Rye has the advantage of u great¬ 
er bulk of humus and an assured stand. 
The manure used is almost entirely 
from the mines nearby. It costs at the 
mine about $1.25 per load of 2 l A to 
three tons. It is without litter, and an¬ 
alyzes a little higher than the ordinary 
stable manure A hundred tons per acre 
is no unusual annual application. Shav¬ 
ing manure gave very poor results when 
tried side by side with that from the 
mines. The disadvantage is said to be 
less on heavier soil. 
Seed for the early crop is sown in 
flats about March 1. Earlier sowings 
show a marked tendency to run to seed, 
and there is little advantage in market¬ 
ing before August 1. Some trouble is 
experienced with damping off. Deep 
flats and careful watering are important 
factors in avoiding this difficulty. Of 
recent years the seed has been sown 
in beds, the soil of which has been 
sterilized. For this purpose a quart of 
formalin is mixed with a barrel of 
water, and a gallon of this liquid applied 
to each cubic foot of soil. After two 
part of the nitrogen. The fertilizer is 
put on just before the plants are set, 
about the middle of May. The dis¬ 
tances are 3.3 inches between rows, and 
■seven inches in the row. Great care is 
taken to avoid setting the plants too 
deep, as the crown is partly covered 
and the plant seriously stunted, usually 
ruined. A row planted by a careless 
worker is a conspicuous monument to 
his memory throughout the season. 
The water problem has been a very 
serious matter on this land, and espe- 
TYPICAL BUNCH BEADY FOR MARKET. 
Fig. 5l9. 
cially in growing celery. There is hard¬ 
ly a year when drought does not curtail 
the crop. Irrigation is the only remedy. 
A portable boiler and No. 6 pump were 
installed at the edge of the field on the 
bank of a little inlet from the river. 
Three-inch pipes were laid along the 
side of the field and at intervals 
through the rows. On the cross pipes 
are connections for two-inch fire hose. 
By means of these the water is allowed 
to flow gently upon the soil. During 
most of the Summer just past, the plant 
was kept in operation constancy during 
working hours. It has far more than 
ARRANGING BOARDS FOR BLANCHING CELERY. Fig. 518. 
weeks it is dug over, and seed may 
then be sown without danger from the 
chemical. The seedlings are transplant¬ 
ed to flats and then to cold frames, 
though they are not so rigorously hard¬ 
ened as cabbage plants. A full ton of 
a high grade fertilizer, running about 
six per cent of nitrogen, e'ght of phos¬ 
phoric acid, and ten of potash, is applied 
to each acre. A local abattoir supplies 
a high grade of tankage at unusually 
low figures, and this is used for a large 
paid for itself, the crop being far above 
average, while the fields of neighbors 
arc very poor. Leaf spot or celery 
blight is the most serious pest. It is 
held in check by faithful applications 
of Bordeaux Mixture. The first is made 
from a knapsack sprayer before the 
plants go to the field. Six additional 
sprayings are made in the field with a 
four-row machine. 
Blanching celery in hot weather is 
not so easily accomplished as in the 
Fall. Soil at this season affords most 
favorable conditions for rust ' Instead 
of this method, 12-inch boards are used. 
Only good lumber is purchased, cleats 
are nailed on to prevent splitting, and 
the boards are as well cared for as hot¬ 
bed sash, far better than many a gar¬ 
dener cares for them. Each board does 
■service six to seven times in a season. 
When the plants are 12 inches high, the 
boards are set beside them and fastened 
in place with clamps made from a piece 
of heavy wire about 10 inches long, 
and bent to a little less than a right 
angle two inches from each end. Pairs 
of rows are selected at intervals over 
the field for the first ’blanching. In this 
way wagon-ways are opened and labor 
is saved in moving the boards from row 
to row. The process requires from 10 
days to two weeks, according to weath¬ 
er conditions. When ready for market, 
the celery is dug with spades and 
stripped of outside leaves in the field. 
It is hauled to a shed, trimmed, washed 
with a hose, bunched and scrubbed. 
The root is cut to a four-sided wedge 
and three or four stalks are tied at top 
and bottom into a flat bunch. The crop 
is sold mainly in Wilkes-Barre, and 
prices run from 50 cents to $2 per dozen 
bunches. 
Late celery is grown by much the 
same methods. Plants are grown entire¬ 
ly out of doors, and are set in the field 
about July 1. Less nitrogen is used in 
the fertilizer. The process of blanching 
is quite different, being accomplished 
without the use of boards. The first 
step is the handling of the plants, that 
is, the soil in the middle is loosened, 
each plant is gathered together at the 
top, and earth is pushed up around it 
and somewhat compacted, care being 
taken to keep the heart free from soil. 
A hiller is afterward used to bank the 
earth up higher. Part of the crop is 
marketed as dug. This is handled in 
the same manner as the early crop. 
Trenching has been found the most eco¬ 
nomical and satisfactory method of 
storage. A trench is dug to such a 
depth that only a few inches of the 
top will reach above ground. The 
plants are dug with a considerable 
amount of soil, and are compactly set 
in the trench, though not packed. As 
Winter advances, protection is given 
first with straw or boards, then with 
soil and manure. Care is taken not to 
cover any faster than is necessary, and 
not too tightly at any time. Heating 
and rotting are likely to result if this 
mistake is made. paul work. 
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THE AERM0T0R GASOLINE ENGINE 
is lioslKiieil to supply water for the farm 
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TEN Gasoline Pumping Outfits, capacity 40 bbl. an hour. 
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St 
—. Two layers 
of glass instead of one 
Never Needs Covering 
Air between glass better than boards or mats 
Plants need light, the more of it, the better. Sunlight Sash lets in 
light all the time. Almost every kind of vegetable or flower has been 
grown under the Sunlight in all sorts of weather and temperature. 
You can get better results than ever before—stronger earlier plants. 
The Sunlight is such a big improvement that gardeners, State 
Agricultural Stations and C/olleges of Agriculture everywhere use 
and recommend it. 
It does away entirely with the hardest work, the covering and 
uncovering. Children can prop it open for airing. You can handle 
twice the number of beds. 
Write for catalog and get our freight prepaid proposition. 
Order early to insure prompt ship¬ 
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guaranteed. Write today. Nonv is 
the time to prepare for cold frames. 
f H . , , Sunlight Double Glass Sash Co. 
-Or Hot-beds (Incorporated) 
and Cold-frames 924 E. Broadway, Louisville, Ky. 
