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THE COTTAGE GARDE NEE AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, June 2, 1857. 
VEGETABLE CULTURE AND COOKERY. 
CELERIAC. 
This is also called Tar nip-rooted Celery, and the large- 
swelling root is used as an ingredient in soups and salads. 
The seed should be sown in the open ground, on a bed 
well worked and pulverised, in the end of March and begin¬ 
ning of April, and when the plants are two or three inches 
i high they are to be thinned out to about four inches apart. 
I When six inches high they are to be transplanted to a piece 
I of well-prepared, rich ground, and put out six inches apart 
| in drills, which should be six inches deep. As the roots 
attain a pretty good size earth them up on each side to 
! make them white and tender, and in about six weeks they 
will he ready to use, either boiled in soups or raw in salads. 
CELERY. 
Of the many varieties of Celery which modern gardening 
has produced the best we know of at present are Seymour's 
Red and White and Cole's Red and White. There are, of 
course, other varieties always making their appearance, 
which are no doubt equally good, but these we know so well 
as to he able to recommend them. 
Celery is raised from seed, which, for the earliest crop, 
is sown on a slight hotbed in the first week of March, and 
thinly covered with fine, light mould. When the plants are 
two or three inches high they are to be thinned, and pricked 
out on another bed at a distance of three inches apart, and 
covered with hoops and mats, or with frame lights, to 
protect them from the weather. In the first or second week 
in June they will be ready to plant out in trenches ; and in 
July, when the plants have made a considerable growth, they 
may be earthed up to blanch, to the height of three or four 
inches; this operation to be repeated about every successive 
week till ready for use. 
For a succession crop the seed should he sown in the 
middle or end of March, on a light, warm, rich border 
in the open ground. When the plants are large enough 
prick them out as before directed, and when sufficiently 
advanced plant them out in trenches. 
For the main crop, to come into use in the autumn and last 
during the winter, the seed is to be sown in a warm situation, 
on a light, rich soil, in the middle or end of April, and 
covered about a quarter of an inch with finely-sifted mould. 
! If the weather is dry occasional waterings should be given 
till the seeds have vegetated, and a slight protection should 
be afforded the young plants on cold nights. When they are 
| three inches high prick them out on a piece of well-prepared 
ground till they have acquired sufficient strength for plant¬ 
ing out in July. The trenches are to be a foot wide and 
six inches deep, with a quantity of manure dug into the 
bottom. The plants are to be put out along the centre of 
the trench six inches distance from each other, and watered 
till they are established. As they grow, they are to be 
earthed up a little at a time, care being taken that none of 
the soil gets between the leaf-stalks. The earthing up may 
be continued all through the remainder of the season ; but 
this is to be done gradually, otherwise the plants will be 
buried instead of earthed up, and their growth will be 
checked. In forming the top of the ridge it should always 
j slope away from the plants, so as to carry off the rain, which, 
! ^ allowed to run into the stalks, would cause decay. 
In blanching Celery a very good practice is to bind it 
I’ound with haybands before earthing it up; and we have 
also seen common drain tiles placed round the plants to 
prevent the soil from coming in contact with them. 
Besides the usual modes of using Celery as a salad and 
an ingredient in soups,* the following will be found ac¬ 
ceptable :— 
Celery Stewed.— Wash the heads and strip off their 
outer leaves; either halve or leave them whole, according to 
their size, and cut them into lengths of four inches. Put 
them into a stew-pan, with a cup of broth or weak white 
gravy; stew till tender, and add two spoonsful of cream, a 
little flour and butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, nutme" 
and a little pounded white sugar, and simmer all together?’ 
Celery I ritters. Cut the Celery into pieces three or 
four inches long, and boil it till tender in water seasoned 
with a very little salt. Drain the pieces well, and lay them 
separately to cool on a dish. Make a batter in the propor¬ 
tion of three well-beaten eggs stirred into a pint of rich 
milk alternately with half a pint of grated bread crumbs or 
of sifted flour. Beat the batter very hard after it is all. 
mixed. Put into a hot frying-pan a sufficiency of fresh lard, 
melt it over the fire, and when it comes to a boil dip each 
piece of Celery twice into the batter, put them into the pan, and 
fry them a light brown. When done lay them to drain on 
an inverted sieve, with a broad pan placed beneath it; then 
dish the fried Celery and send it to table hot. 
Celery Sauce. —Wash and pare a bunch of Celery, cut 
it into pieces, and boil it gently till it is tender; add half a 
pint of cream and a small piece ^of butter rolled in flour, 
and boil it gently. This is a good sauce for fowls of all 
kinds, either roasted or boiled. 
Stamford Floral and Horticultural Society.— 
Arrangements have been made for this Society to hold 
their first Show in the open air, and it has been defi¬ 
nitely determined to have the Summer Show on Wednes¬ 
day, July 15tli. Every exertion will be made to put 
the Society on a first-class footing, and with this intent 
a Silver Cup will be offered for Roses, and an appropriate 
Silver Medal will be struck and given for certain pro¬ 
ductions. The schedule has been remodelled, and the 
prizes, which will be open to all England, considerably 
increased. In addition, the patroness (the Marchioness 
of Exeter) has kindly consented to offer a prize for 
Ladies’ Bouquets, upon the same principle as the one 
which has proved so advantageous to the Rockingham 
Show. The grounds so liberally offered by 0. Ed¬ 
monds, Esq., are admirably situated for the purpose, 
being immediately opposite Rutland Terrace ; and it is 
expected that with the three lines of railway running 
into Stamford having special trains on the day, and 
with the other attractions presented, exhibitors and 
visitors will be brought in great numbers from different 
parts of the country. 
ON THE DEPOSITS IN THE CELLS OF BEES. 
In our observations at page 39 on Queen Bees and Royal 
Jelly we forgot to notice a brownish substance sometimes 
found at the bottom, or rather, the top of the queens’ cells. 
Our attention was called to that some years back, and we 
sent a cell in which there was some of the substance to 
Dr. Fyfe, professor of chemistry, Old College, Aberdeen; 
but having lost his note we cannot state with certainty his 
reply. We recollect, however, that he said something re¬ 
specting the substance not melting in boiling water, and 
giving out a resinous vegetable odour when tested by fire. 
As this agreed with our previous knowledge of the properties 
of propolis we were led to think that the substance was 
merely the excrement deposited by the grubs, or rather, 
perfect insects, when confined in the cells, with, perhaps, a 
little of the wax-like substance of which the cells are formed, 
similar to the deposits formed in the combs of hornets and 
wasps. There are certainly very few traces of such matter 
found in the cells of other bees; but in this case the 
deposits are only from the larva, which may be absorbed, or 
the cells may he oftener cleaned out to receive fresh eggs. 
Still we think that some little crust substance may be seen 
in them when examined before the brood has left in the 
usual way. 
Since the above was written we find that “ A Country 
Curate,” at page 75, mentions that he is startled at what we 
said connected with this subject at page 39 already noticed. 
He wishes to know “what is the nature of the dark acid 
substance” of which we have been speaking, and inquires 
wny this substance is never found in any other cells.” 
We trust that what we have already stated on this subject 
will suffice, although it is given at second hand. We need, 
then, only advert to our ipse dixit, or what we said. As 
Mr. Golding used the word “fudge” in a friendly note 
perhaps we should not have made use of it; but his cha- 
