Garden Notes, 1910. 9 
■cellar. This system may be utilized where only a few plants are 
used, and cool cellar room is available. Although the Giant Pas- 
call made large plants because of having a longer season for growth 
than is usually desirable for the crop, there were but four or five 
plants in the whole plot that showed any tendency to go to seed. 
This would indicate that the cause of celery going to seed pre¬ 
maturely in Colorado is because of drying out of the soil some¬ 
time during the growing season. Celery in its natural condition 
grows in swamps, in other words it is a semi-aquatic plant. It is 
also a biennial, that is, it should make growth in one season, and 
develop seed the next the same as the carrot, parsnip, etc. The 
theory is that, in Colorado, the growth of the plants becomes 
checked by lack of water sometime during the summer season. This 
corresponds to the resting season over winter in its natural habitat. 
When growth starts again after the check the plant sends up its 
seed stalk. This experiment has not been carried far enough to 
demonstrate this theory beyond a doubt, but we believe that at 
least a large part of the trouble experienced by Colorado growers 
comes from this cause. 
Celery growers in Colorado are troubled very little with fungus 
diseases or insect pests. Occasionally we hear of trouble from 
decay of the stem. This is undoubtedly caused by fungi. This 
has not been serious enough up to the present time, however, to 
lead to any particular investigation of the subject. Celery rust 
occasionally occurs, but this is not ordinarily serious. Few insects 
give any trouble. 
Cucumber .—The cucumber is a semi-tropical vegetable, and 
is not supposed to be very well adapted to Colorado conditions. For 
all places, except the very high altitude, however, this vegetable may 
be grown with perfect success. While the cool nights are not 
particularly favorable to the growth of the cucumber, the absence 
of diseases that cause trouble in other places offset this difficulty 
to such an extent that the yields are on the whole practically as 
good as in the so-called cucumber districts of the East. The cu¬ 
cumber needs considerable moisture, and yet care should be taken 
not to cause a cooling of the soil from too frequent or heavy irri¬ 
gation. In order to avoid this while the plants are small, the har¬ 
row should follow as quickly as possible after irrigation. Where 
the season is short, the seed should be planted early. The early 
varieties are to be recommended rather than the larger growing 
late varieties. The greatest danger to the crop is from poor germ¬ 
ination of the seed, owing to the cool nights in the spring. It is 
well to plant plenty of seed and depend on thinning the plants down 
to the required number. In the Experiment Station plots, both 
•Coy's Cumberland, and the Fort Hook Famous cucumbers made 
