THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, September 8, 1857. 363 
which to found my gardening routine, because, by the par¬ 
ticular mode I adopt in the cultivation of this vegetable, the 
greatest scope is given for a thorough turning and aeration 
of the soil, exposing it alike to the winter’s frosts and the 
j summer’s sun, by which the most obdurate and sterile staple 
becomes friable, and consequently better fitted for all general 
purposes of culture. 
In the month of June the Broccoli and Cauliflower section 
of the Brassica family is planted, and so arranged that the 
Celery trenches for the next season’s crop may be formed as 
soon as the Cauliflowers have perfected their growth, and in 
this operation the mould is placed among the stems of the 
Broccoli, which, with after covering, effectually protects them 
from the severity of the winter; and when the ground is in 
a condition to require draining, these trenches afford a ready 
means for the performance of the operation. The manure 
is placed in the trenches during winter, whereby an ad¬ 
vantage is gained in having this kind of work performed at 
a less busy season than early spring or summer. But the 
plan also affords space for the production of early esculents. 
For the kinds that require a rich medium for perfect de¬ 
velopment, or such as Sea-kale or Rhubarb, which need, in 
addition to a slight bottom heat, an extra accumulation of 
matter as a means by which to blanch the stalks of the 
leaves, the situation is equally appropriate. The trenches 
form, too, a ready receptacle for such plants as are required 
for the summer decoration of the parterre. Cuttings struck 
in hotbeds in early spring, or plants which have been kept 
in crowded places during the depth of 
winter, planted on these gently warm beds 
towards the end of March, and protected 
from frosts by glass or other covering, 
soon become strong and well rooted, and 
are moved with much facility to their 
proper situations when the planting season 
has arrived. After the Broccoli has been 
removed the ridges are also available for 
crops of such vegetables as Spinach, 
Lettuce, Peas, Radishes, &c., the only con¬ 
ditions necessary being that they should 
be cleared from the ground previous to 
earthing the successional crops of Celery 
as they require it. 
The annexed diagram, representing a 
course of Celery culture, will probably 
convey a more accurate idea of the system^ 
pursued than any mere description, how¬ 
ever elaborate. 
The object I seek to attain in the cul¬ 
tivation of this useful esculent is sticks of 
a medium size, crisp, solid, and perfectly 
blanched, that being the description of 
Celery most useful for every edible pur¬ 
pose, and which I produce by planting 
somewhat closely on a bed of very rich 
material, kept in a tolerably moist condition 
by being frequently saturated with liquid 
manure. Blanching under such circum¬ 
stances is readily accomplished by ordi¬ 
nary means. 
The kinds of Celery I cultivate are those 
which have usually been obtained from 
the shops under the names of Manchester, 
Seymour’s, and Cole’s, all of which I con¬ 
sider may be classed, according to colour, 
with the solid red and solid white. The 
only distinct varieties which have come 
under my notice are the Italian or upright, 
the curled, the variegated, and possibly the 
Celeri Turc. I am aware that in the neigh¬ 
bourhood of some of the large manufac¬ 
turing towns the artisans cultivate Celery 
with considerable care, and that they boast 
of possessing several sorts of celebrity; 
their names, however, are so purely local 
as to induce the belief, that, as at Man- 
Chester and other places, cultivation under 
very favourable circumstances has been 
alone the means of producing these 
monster growths we sometimes hear of. 
I raise the plants from successive sow¬ 
ings, made respectively in the first and 
last weeks of February, the second week 
in March, and finally in the first week in 
April; the first two crops are raised in 
well - drained fourteen-incli pots, placed 
near the glass in a hotbed, or other warm 
situation. When the plants are sufficiently 
large they are pricked out on a somewhat 
spent hotbed under glass, and well inured 
to the weather before being planted out in 
the trenches. The last two crops are sown 
on a slightly warm bed under glass, and 
some are also sown in the open ground at 
A represents a section of ground planted with Broccoli and Cauliflower.— b b, Broccoli. 
a a , Cauliflower. 
B represents the ground after the Cauliflower has been removed and the Celery trenches 
prepared for under-cropping, the Broccoli stems being earthed up as a protection from 
frost.— c c c, protected Broccoli; n nn, ground level; d d, trenches for Celery and 
under-cropping; e e e, manure-bed ; f f, drain-pipes covered over with rough ma¬ 
terials, and forming a connection with the main drains. 
C represents the first crop of Celery earthed up after the whole of the under-crops have 
been removed from the ground.— h h, the first Celery crop ; g g g, the second crop, 
planted on a bed of manure in the trenches formed by the operation of earthing up 
the first crop. 
D represents the second crop, earthed up from the material on which the first crop had 
been grown, and the third succession planted on a new bed formed on the space 
formerly occupied by the first crop .—i i i, the second crop; k k, the third crop, which 
will ultimately be earthed from the material occupied by the second crop. 
E represents the ground trenched and thoroughly mixed with the rich material so abun¬ 
dantly used in the cultivation of the Celery crop, the subsoil being broken up as low 
as the drainage, but not mixed with the top soil. I, top soil; tn, subsoil, 
