LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. ^T^ir UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. i ^ •^ ^yZ^A/>^ c/i CELERY GROWING AND rvIARKKTING A SUCCESS WITH PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR. ALSO ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTEEN PLATES SHOWING NEW TOOLS AND APPLIANCES IN ' ■ CELERY CULTURE AND THE CARE OF THE CROP. THIS IS THE ONIvY BOOK KVER WRITTEN WHICH COVERS THE WHOI^E PERIOD OF GROWING, MARKETING AND CARING FOR THE CROP, WITH EXPIJCIT DIRECTIONS. HONIKR L. STEWART, Originator of Stewart's Prairie-Side Celery Growing. TECUMSEH, MICH. THE BLADE PRINTINQl & PAPER CO 1891. Entered according- to the act of Cong-ress, in the year 1891, by HOMER L. STEWART, In the office of the Librarian of Congrress at Washing-ton, 'O DEDICATION. TO THE PEOPLE OF THIS GRAND UNIVERSE Wineresoever located, without distinction as to size^ strength, age or sex , who by a well directed thought or act shall contribute to the death of the day of cruel wrongs now perpetrated upon humanity ; whereby the tears which now stand upon the pale cheek of sorrow and want shall be dried ; and the abundant supply of earth's richest harvests nnore evenly divided by a people and an eternal principle of right which shall teach every person to mind his own business, and all earn an honest living : THIS VOLUME IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. PREKACE. After reading this treatise through once, you will have soniiething of an opinion of your own in regard to it. I certainly have endeavored to make it plain. My spare time from the care of m_v celery industry for the past two years has been sjDent upon this work. There is not an item in the book but what can be relied upon as giving the same answer as recorded here when surrounded by the same con- ditions and manipulated in a similar manner. They have all been demonstrated. I hope you will read the preface entire first. In this book is noted my own practical experience in celery growing and marketing. Not a phrase has been borrowed from any article ever written by others upon this subject. Now believing as I do that what has been done can be done, I give some figures in my own business, which I otherwise would not have given, not as a boast, but simply recording a fact in a business pursuit for the benefit of others 10 PREFACE. that they may occasionally " See a footprint in the sands of time "and take courage anew. As you commence studying this book, a short history of celery is noticed at first; then the different kinds of soils, which are best, how to prepare them so you can reasonably expect a crop ; the kinds of celery to grow for the family, also the kinds to grow for market; how to make a hothouse or bed, how and where to get the seed, how and wlieii to sow it, early and late ; how to fit the ground for the plants ; how to care for the plants before setting, how and when to set them, how to cai-e for them after being set; how to blanch them; how to gather,wash, bunch, tie and box; how to market, get all your goods are worth, and your pay; how to find buyers that want your celery, and how to keep them ; how to build the storehouse, and how to store celery away for the winter, and when to gather it in the different latitudes. Also all tools and appliances for growing, and to facil- itate handling and caring for the crop, together with thirteen cuts illustrating how to make and use them, as there are several which jou cannot as yet buy already made. In raising just for home use, there are many things which can be dispensed with, but in growing for market, in order to entertain a reasonable hope of success, you must be prepared in both knowledge and equipments to measure arms with the very best growers in the field. . I think the cuts all show plainly, so you will be able to make them. Some are very valuable and yott cannot afford to tr}^ to get along without them. The ptilverizer to fine PREFACE. 11 the soil ; the wheel which punches the holes for the plants : the washing rack, with its style of work ; the rubber tying box with its foot lever; the rope crates for handling without bruising ; the perfection of the banking plow ; the knife as attached to the plow for cutting the celery out of the ground, thereby saving one-fifth of the help from the way of taking it out with the spade or fork : are all of my own device and new in celery culture. Those who do not have them cannot compete in price or perfection with those who do. Taking the dilference all in all between the mode usually pursued by celery growers and that as laid down in this treatise, it is fully as great as the difference is in harvest- ing between the old cradle and rake and the self-binder. When I commenced raising celery I left no stone un- turned in my endeavor to learn how to get better results than were being realized by growers then. As it rusted, and was liable to rot in w^arm weather as it approached ripeness, the consequence was that it was harvested green to save it, and upon the whole it was pretty tough and poor. I watched the horticultural papers for items to help me out of the dark, searched high and low, far and near, for a book of instructions, but was not able to find one, and never have, to this day, been able to find one worth mentioning. I have bought a sample of everything I have ever seen advertised, which at the best has been some little pamphlet, very meager, with no practical information excejjt what any one engaged in the business could not help but learn the first morning be- fore breakfast. I could have well afi'orded to have paid a few thousand dollars for a book containing the information ^F 12 PREFACE. which this one does, as it would have enabled me thereby to have saved a net of six or seven thousand dollars per year for the first three years, which I spent in learriing ]vi^t what is now practically shown up in this work. I appeal to your judgment to sustain me in this assertion. Here are the facts in the case: In February, 1883, I bought one hundred acres of land at thirty-one dollars per acre, three miles from town, fifty being upland and cleared, the balance a swamp covered with willows, wild grasses, small poplars and elm trees. I cleared thirty-four acres and raised one acre of celery per year for the first three years, the fourth fourteen, the fifth twenty, and for the last three years thirty-four each year. Now for the result : From this acreage as given, for the past five years^ closing with 1890, my gross receipts from celery sales have sixty-seven thousand dollar8,with a clear cash net of forty-one thousand dollars over all expenses. (The mat- ter of transportation has not been brought into account here, as the buyer has always settled that at the other end of the route, I selling celery free on board car.) This is an average for five consecutive years, through favorable and unfavor- able seasons. My fourth year, which was in 1886, I sent out my first fine celery, and I soon became convinced that it was u higher grade than had ever before appeared in the markets, from its readv sale and the high praises of it which I re- ceived from my patrons. I now concluded to sliow the ex- perts in horticulture what had been accomplished. I there- PREFACE. 13 fore sent sample boxes to a great many throughout the differ- ent States. They acknowledged the receipt at once, paying it the highest compliments in every instance. The following are samples of hundred of letters received : New York, Nov. 11, 1886. Mr. H. L. Stewart, Tecumseh, Mich. Dear Sir : Through your kindness we have to-day received some specimens of White Plume celery, very beauti- fully grown and deserving of the highest praise. We would like to know^ what you would charge us for a dozen boxes same as the one sent us, which we wish to use here in the city for advertising purposes. If you will also describe your method of culture we will be obliged. Yours very truly, Peter Henderson & Co. Mr. Henderson was very much pleased to be able to show up tliis .celery, as the following notes would indicate. In his seed catalogue of 1887 he says : " The celery Mr. Stewart sent us was beyond all question the finest we ever saw, and was sent by us to Delmonico's restaurant in this city, where its exhibition created a furore." Here follows what several of those high-priced hotels in New York City thought of the second lot, sent Nov. 15, 1886, which Mr. Henderson speaks of wanting to show in the cit3^ 14 PREFACE, Fifth Ave Hotel, New York, Nov. 19, 1886. The celery sent by you yesterday has been received and tried. We are pleased to say they are the most beautiful specimens we have ever seen. Hitchcock, Darling & Co. Hotel Brunswick, ( New York, Nov. 19, 1886. f The box containing celery received, and in acknowl- edging we beg to say that it is the best we ever saw, and would gladly know where to purchase the same. J. B. WiSTAR, Steward for Hotel Brunsicick. Murray Hill Hotel, \ New York, Nov. 19, 1886. \ The specimens of celery are really beautiful, and show an advancement in the cultivation of this vegetable that merits more than ordinary praise. Hunting & Howard. Hoffman House, ) Nov. 20, 1886. f We are in receipt of the box of celery, and find it the finest we have ever seen. A portion of it was served at a PREFACE. 15 special dinner of fourteen covers and received the highest encomiums by the guests who ate of it. Very truly yours, J. A., Sample buyer for Hoffman House. GiLSEY House, | New York, Nov. 1&, 1886. J I am in receipt of a sample box of celery from your house, and think it the finest I have yet seen. A. D. Hayner, Steward. It has also graced the table at the White House, as the following letter will show : Executive Mansion, Nov. 26, 1886. Mr. H. L. Stewart, Tecumseh, Mich. Dear Sir : Your pleasant Thanksgiving remembrance by a box of celery was duly received, and I beg to assure you of my appreciation of your courtesy and of the excellency of the product. Very truly yours, G rover Cleveland. Those New York hotels noted above buy the finest pro- ductions that the earth produces, regardless of the money cost, as their patrons have got the cash to pay for 16 PREFACE. that kind of fare, and their opinion is worth something. Hence e.very grower of celery who has the ambition to sell at the top of the market, so as to get the best remunera- tion for thought and labor, will be pleased to know that this treatise contains the necessary informa- tion, as a guide to the production of celery which from the evidence above given has found such noted favor with the public. I am fully persuaded that to follow the course as laid down here (until you are sure you can do better) is the beginning of wisdom. Learn your business well, then start in with a determination to succeed, and you will, as success does not come by chance. July 1, 1891. The Author. CONTENTS. History of Celery, ... . . . . 25 Selecting -a Site, ...... 26 Its Use Increasing, . . . . . . 29 Success in a Nutshell, ...... 30 Preparing the Land, ..... 31 Varieties of Celery, . . . . . .37 Making a Hotbed and Sowing Seed, ... 40 Sowing seed in Open Air, . . • . . .42 Getting Ready to set the Plants, ... 44 Sectioning and Platting Land for Convenience, . . 46 The Wheel, its Construction and ITse {see Cut No. 2), 49 20 contents. Taking up, Separating and Setting the Plants, . . 51 Caring for Open-air Seed-beds, .... 59 Care op Celery after Setting, .... 60 .Material Used and Preparations for Blanching, . 64 Making the Hooks, ...... 66 Getting the Boards along the rows, ... 69 Putting the Boards in Position for Blanching, . . 70 Vats for Washing, ...... 71 Preparing for Harvesting and Marketing where there is a Crop of Twenty to Forty Acres— Water for Wash- ing AND Necessary Buildings, .... 71 How to make a Box in which to Bunch and Tie Celery, 79 Allotting Space to Tyers, . . . • . 79 Adjusting for the Foot Lever, .... 80 Beauty of Rope Crates {sec Cut No. 10), ... 84 Their Construction, ...... 84 Passing the Bunches into the Packing Room, also Finish- ing ITS Construction, ..... 87 CONTENTS. 31 H.wiNd THE Packing Room Iced, .... 88 Building House fok Boxin(; Lumbek, to make the Boxe« IN, etc., . . . . . . .88 Selecting and Prepaking Lumber for Boxe?>, . . 91 Boxing Celery, . . . . . . .01 Packing Room should be Frost-rroof, ... 92 A Tool-house Needed, ...... 94 Irrigating the Crop, . . . . . . . 94 Reviewing the Celery Field and the Workmen, . . 99 Commencing the Harvest, . . . . . 101 Marketing the Crop, . . . • . . .107 Taking a Review, and making an Advance afterwards, AND Getting some Storehouse Material, . . 116 Banking with Earth for Blanching, . . . 119 The Construction of Shovel Plow and its I'se, . 120 The Time for Banking Winter or Store Celery, . . 124 An Attachment for a One-Horse Plow to cut off the Roots, and how to use it {see Cut No. 13), . . 126 22 CONTENTS. How TO HaXDLK I'lIK IIkAOS THAI' y\lf, . . . . . . . 77 9. BlTNCIUNG I3()\, . . . . . .81 10. Roi'E Crate, . . . . . . .85 11. Carrying Celery in Crate, . . . .811 12. Banking Plow, . . . . . . .121 i:}. Plow for Cutting Roots, . . . . .127 [Please read the preface iirst, as you cannot fully understand the book without it.] Celery Growing and Marketing. HISTORY OF CELERY. J ELERY was introduced into this country from \ Europe, that place having been its home ; it grows wild there, in saline soils, usually upon low lands, upon the edges of ditches and brooks ; the stalks are hollow, with a bitter acrid taste, but now after years of cultivation it is so much changed that its flavor becomes exquisitely agreeable, and it is rescarded as a verv wholesome diet Through cultivation and time its stalks have become solid in the main, yet some varieties have a tendency to revert to their original hollow condi- tion. As we study the history and natural habits of this plant, it will aid us very materially in se- lecting a suitable soil, location, and preparation for its successful cultivation. Nature directs the way, so with care and a painstaking search we may fol- 26 CEI^KRY GROWING. low; even though afar off, it is better than to be entirely astray. SELECTING A SITE. The peat lands, which are so common in many of the States, are without doubt the choicest loca- tions upon which to grow celery for market, as it can be quickly worked, and done so easily, after you once know how, and at such a fine profit for your thought and labor, upon lands that have been an eyesore for years upon thousands of farms all over our country. They have been known as waste lands, swamps, mire holes, good for nothing only to hold the world together, and hardly that, usual- ly covered with a growth of bushes, weeds or coarse grass of some kind. Golden-rod with its bright yellow blossoms frequently has entire control ; but these despised places have never contributed one dollar as profit to the farm, simply because you have not possessed the key with which to unlock the storehouse of wealth and profit which have lain there in a latent condition, "Lo, these many years." Now some vix^vrnw^. wake ttp ! resolve to give this much despised swamp a fair chance to contribute, and I assure you it will respond most nobly. I know, for I have tried it. Some of these lands have shallow water stand- ing upon them a part of the time. Such must be SELECTING A SITE. 27 drained ; in fact they all need ditching to some ex- tent, but not too deep, or you may get it too dry, in a dry season. By the way, such lands, when reclaimed, will grow almost any crop (except the cereals) that will survive the late and early frosts that are incident to such low lands in this latitude. When I was subduing mine for a first crop, I grew corn upon twelve acres, had one hundred and twenty bushels per acre, and a frost hurt it some in August. The water stood within twelve inches of the surface when plowed in the spring. But excuse this digression ; we are now upon the celery theme, and must stick to the text. In case the land has willows or any small trees, it is best to grub them right out and clear it so you can plow it well, and a small patch of cel- ery, four or six acres, will return you a larger net profit than your whole farm beside, even though you have a full one-quarter section. There are thousands of f^xrms with from one to twenty or more acres upon it of this kind of land, and a 77iortgage besides. Now, without any joking, it usually takes cash or its equivalent to get rid of those obnoxious things, yet one or two crops of cel- ery will do wonders in that line. In short, the mort- gage is off*, the land you still have. It has waked up! It is doing its duty grandly since you have given it a chance, and you will never want to get 28 CKIyKKY GKOWING. rid of that, as you have now found out its value, and what a true friend it has been in your trying hour of need. These peat beds are the residue of decomposed matter, grasses and weeds, all formed right there when it was a lake, consequently it is all vegetable matter, full of nitrogen in a latent condition. They are very easily worked, and at much less expense than common lands, but require different treatment, which w^ill be particularly noted farther on. Almost any tract of low, level land can be utilized for celery-growing ; level, because it will not wash dur- ing heavy rain storms, and low, because such places retain moisture much longer in dry times. The Middle States have more lands adapted to celery- growing than either the Eastern, Southern, or Western, although there are some fine locations in all the States and Canada. The dry windy climate of the West is somewhat against that section, al- though that is being overcome by the system of irrigation. All the Gulf States have fine lands for celery. Tamarack swamps make good places in time, but they must be cleared several years before they can be utilized for that purpose; as the peat is too new, consequently coarse, it must rot down some first. Black ash and elm swamps are usually much richer, naturally, than any of the peat bedfe, as the soil in the black ash is a leaf mold; that is what I SELECTING A SITE. 29 call muck land, and there is usually a subsoil of clay within a few inches of the surface, which so completely holds the fertility from getting away that they can be made to produce one of the best of crops, in case the subsoil is deep enough so the plow does nut turn up enough of the clay to make the land stiif and hard. What has been said so far applies 'more par- ticularly to growing celery on a large scale, or in other words, *for market." But we desire to con- sider the growing of this precious article of diet in all of its bearings and relations to the human family. Hence I say every farmer can grow it, in fact all who have a garden, be it high or low ground, clay or sand, by making it rich enough and keeping it well watered. It is very nice indeed, and labor well expended, to grow each year a few hundred heads for the family. It causes you to sleep more soundly, and cuts down the doctor's bill, etc. ITS USE IN^CREASING. Eight years ago it was a rare sight to see celery growing in this State, outside of Kalamazoo, or to find it upon the table of the farmer or working-man; it was considered a great luxury; but times are changing. It is now being considered a necessity for everyone, and not as in former times indulged 30 CELEKY GROWING. in only by fancy hotels and a few private families herci and there. Just as soon as it is produced in quantities sui ficient to go around and supply the wants of the whole country, and at a price within the reach of all, it will be found upon every table, as it ought to be. The demand now keeps ahead of the increased production. It will be years, if ever, before the whole country is fully supplied. Take for example the little village of 2,200 inhabitants, here where I live : it required only one acre of celery eight years ago, now it takes the growth of twelve acres to satisfy its demands. It seems to be advisable for all who are engaged in the celery industry to supply their home market first, then in case of a surplus to establish a trade with your nearest city market. SUCCESS IX A NUTSHELL. Up to the year 1886, nearly all celery was blanched by being banked up with the earth from between the rows. This does well as the cool weather of fall approaches, but in warm weather, and especially warm and wet, just as soon as it ap- proaches ripeness and readiness for use it becomes very tender, and will rust or rot through the con- taminating influence of the moldy earth. This is sure to be the case where the soil rests against the SUCCESS IN A NUTSHEI^L. 31 stalks, especially if the celery is of a high order and tine-grained (juality. Tile and paper had been somewhat used on a small scale, but at the date above mentioned the use of boards for blanching had their advent, and most admirably do they answer the purpose. The appliances, paraphernalia, and their application to celery-culture shown in this book, are of my own designing, and have all been brought to the front within the last five years from a necessity to pro- duce a high grade of celery. My first three years' crops were very nearly failures, I, like every one else engaged in the busi- ness, not really knowing how to handle the crop so it would not rust and rot as it approached ripeness. While growing my third crop, however, after it was too far gone to save much of it, I thought I had discovered where the secret lay in saving the next year's one. Acting accordingly, it proved a grand success, since which time light has shone brighter each year. The theory has proved emi- nently successful and profitable, and the science of the whole practical, successful experiences, all hav- ing been thoroughly demonstrated, are recorded in this book. PREPARING THE LAND. Now we will prepare the land for first crop. Take low, wet lands first. In case there is no visi- 32 CEir^ERV GROWING. ble way of draining the swamp without cutting a deep ditcji through the bank or rim that holds the water in, it is a good plan to prospect for a gravel outlet in the banK, in the event of your being in a gravelly locality. Many of these peat beds are simply cisterns ; the washings from the hills have formed a sedimentary deposit that holds the water. Cut well into the bank of gravel for an outlet, then dig your ditches and drain into it. Thirty inches is deep enough for the ditches. Do not get it too dry. Always bear in mind that celery de- lights in frequent drinks. In case of the ordinary level lay of such lands, one ditch every forty rods is sufficient, as peat lands are very porous, hence water passes through very readily. It is best to have open ditches at first, then you can tile if prac- ticable after you see that the drainage is all right. Clear the land as for any other crop, only have it more free from roots of shrubs, chunks of wood, etc. In case grass, wild or tame, is growing upon it, that must be well turned under one season in advance of the setting it with celery. But in case it is covered with small trees, willows, or brush ol any kind, clear it well, and it is as good the first year for a crop as ever. Plow all jDeat lands eight inches deep. Land that will produce 80 bushels of corn per acre will want to be fed with twenty two-horse PREPARING THK LAND. 33 loads per acre of good stable manure, grain fed, and not burned by heating in piles. Spread as drawn, in fall, winterer spring; fall and winter are best, as the elements of fertility get well into the soil by spring, at which time plow under. In case your manure is poor, it will require more. Should it be much strawy, rake it well into the furrow in advance of the plow, or it will beliable-to intexfQve with the setting of the plants. After plowing, if the land is somewhat uneven in short jogs, go over it with a leveler, made with handles, after the style of an old-fashioned road-scraper. Now, sow broadcast five hundred pounds of refuse salt and fifty bushels of unleached ashes to the acre, or in place of the ashes, five to ten hund- red pounds of kainite, sometimes called *' German Salts." You can get it usually of local fertilizer dealers at about $15.00 per ton. Now is the time to make the land fine like a garden. A disk harrow is a good tool to cut it up with, in case it is soddy. Peat lands when new are lumpy, and I know of nothing for pulverizing them equal to the home-made tool shown in cut No. 1, called \hQ pulverizer. Take oak plank, five feet long, eight inches wide, and two inches thick ; fasten a chain to the front edge to draw by. Now bore auger holes 34 CFJ.ERV GROWING. two inches in dmnieter through the plank, drive oak pins througli from lower yide, wedge firm, iix poles (as cut shows) eight feet long, caamfer lower side of pole in front of hole, so the front edge of the plank can rise over the lumps when being- drawn. I think it will commend itself to your favorable consideration at a glance. This tool wdll help to cover up the fertilizer, level the land and powder the lumps „ There are parties who deal in ashes. I here give the name of one such firm : Munroe, Judson & Strop, No. 32 Arcade Bh)ck, Oswego, JN". Y. They furnish by the car load. I will say before going farther, that in case you are short of stable manure, you can fill in with dried blood, which can be had for about $35.00 per ton, in car lots, of the North- Western Fertilizer Co., of Chicago. That which looks dark -brown, is not good ; it has been burned while drying, it down. The red, looking like fresh ground tan-bark, is good. Sow same as commer- cial fertilizers, ten to fifteen hundred pounds to the acre. Manures sold under the head of commercial fertilizers have never produced near so fine a crop on peat land for me as stable manure. Now again: there are lands that will grow fine celery, such as sand loams and clay loams, PREPARING THK LAND. 37 but be sure and have it so thoroughly enriched that it will be mellow, like an ash heap, and well lined ; then in a wet year you can grow a tine crop, but in a dry year it will suffer, and in no case can it be grown so easily or cheaply as uj^on the muck lands, or peat lands. In my opinion, the peat land stands first, the muck second, and the clay and sand loams third. Yet with any of the three grades, a person that understands his business, under favorable conditions, can do wonders. Exercise care, be painstaking in all the de- tails, do the work the day it should be done, and do it right. A sloven ought not to expect an abundant harvest. Celery must have growth, crispness and flavor. Try to improve on each past crop. It nearly always can be done. Bear in mind that it is a dull scholar that does not learn some new and good things each year. '* Excel- sior " is the watchword of to-day, and those who tarry too long in the rut, or look back, waiting for help from some miraculous source, will " get left." VARIETIES OF CELERY. There are twenty - five or thirty different names for celery. There is a wide difi^erence in some of the celeries, both in general appearance and merit. When I first commenced producing 38 CELERY GROWING. celery, J purchased, seed by every name that I could hear of, and that gave me an opportunity to test all kinds, and so decide which Avas best for my ground. The plan is good for everyone. The earliest variety, and the one that sells best, is the White Plume. Xext is Henderson's Half Dwarf, Golden Dwarf, and Golden Heart. For late crops, to stand the cold and to store for winter use, the Boston Market leads the list. It has the best flavor, and is more tender than any other kind. Next in order come White Walnut and Perfection Hartwell, both of which are good. Then comes Henderson's New Rose, a pink vari- ety, one of the best of winter keepers, a choice rich flavor, but will not sell in the market, as nearly everyone is prejudiced against pink or red celery. There is still another variety worth mention- ing — that is, the Golden Self-blanching. It is a very yellow sort and quite attractive in appearance when ripe. It sells well, but has a poor flavor, and is quite liable to rot at the heart as soon as ready for use. Difl*erent varieties vary in different localities, in vigor, solidity of stalk and profit. Therefore get a packet of all kinds for a test, but have your prin- cipal crop of the kinds I have named and you will not be astray. VARIETIES OE CEIyERY. 39 The White Plume originated on the celery grounds of the late Peter Henderson, of Jersey City. He found one head, and grew seed from it about the year 1875. Being such a distinct variety and so very j)retty, it was universally tested, but in a few years almost given up as wanting growth and flavor, or as being unprofitable. That was one ' of the kinds I tested when comm-encing the business, and found it the most profitable variety ever grown. The present style of handling it was develoj)ed here upon my grounds, since which time the markets have been all alive to get hold of it, as it stands at the head in the markets of the world. When in its beauty and prime it is a very deli- cate sort, and will not keep very well later than Christmas. You can send for seed catalo^'ues which will show to you the varieties and how to get them. There ' are scores of dealers ; I here give two : Peter Henderson <& Cu., Cortland street, K". Y., and A. W. Livingston's Sons, Columbus, Ohio. Both are good reliable firms. Send in your name, asking them to send you seed catalogue, and they will do it in the hope of getting your custom . Order seed so as to have it in February. There are seed houses, in fact, in everv State. 40 CElvEKY GROWING. MAKING A HOTBED AND SOWING SEED. It is not necessary to go to the expense of building a costly house to grow early plants in. In early winter cover over a few square rods of ground, such as would make a good seed-bed, with barn- yard manure, two or three feet deep, so that the ground cannot freeze. Then about the first of March, pile this manure off the land, also take enough surface dirt to cover your hotbed manure five inches deep. Set boards edgewise where you have taken the earth to enclose your bed; hold them in position by stakes and nails. Now fill in fifteen inches deep with grain-fed manure, with some litter mixed through it, either from horse, sheep or hog, pack solid, and there will be good heat generated to give you fine plants large enough to set in sixty days. After packing put on earth ^ve inches thick, tread down. Now sow the seed, either in drills six inches apart or broadcast. Rake in, and tread down again if the soil is peat, not if any other kind. My experience is in favor of broadcast sowing ; can get more and stockier plants off same ground. Take a half-pound baking powder can, punch a few small holes in the lid, fill with seed, mark off a few square feet on the dark ground, so that the seeds will show. Now shake it over the same as a pep- MAKING A HOTBED AND SOWING SEED. 41 per box, and count the seeds upon a square foot. Have loO, but after they come up thin to 100. Where the bed is solid it does not hurt to walk on it with rubbers on (or any broad-soled foot wear) for thinning, weeding, etc. Bear in mind to have your sash made and in readiness to cover as soon as seeds are sown. Make the bed to fit the sash. A handy size is three by six feet. Bank around the bed to keep out the cold. The sash should slope towards the south a little, say at the eaves six inches above bfed, at up- per end 18 inches. After the plants come up, put a thermometer inside. Don't let it get above 90 degrees. • Block up the sash to let in air. Keep well watered, and when four inches high shear half down with sheep-shears ; it makes them root heavier. Peat soil is best of all for seed-beds, as it will not get hard. Then comes muck as next best, which, however, is greatly improved by adding one-quarter sand wel 1 m ixed together. Do not pack this soil after the seed has been sown. This style of a hotbed will do very well for ai start, but :^xrther on I will give instructions upon a larger scale which will be utilizing one of the storehouses for that purj^ose after the winter celery has all been trimmed out. It will answer the pur- pose well. 42 CKI.ERY GROWING. SOWING SKED IX OPEN AIR Have c:rouiul leveled down in tlio fall in throe or four ditfereiit parts of your celery iield, which 4ire the most free from weed seeds, also where it holds moisture well. As soon as the frost is out of the surface in April, sow one bed ; in eight days another. IlaA'e all sown by first of May. By so doimc vou will hardly fail toshe assured of haviuii; an abundance of plants. Be sure to roll your seed- beds after sowing and raking in lightly. High gravel, clay or sandy land raises A'ery poor plants, unless immensely rich and kept wet. Keep beds free from weeds and keep tops mown otf with common grass scythe. Always rake olf the cut leaves with tine rake. In case the weeds are very tliick when the plants are small, you can use a board twelve inches wide and six- teen feet long to work on. Keep turning board over as you advance towards weeds. Board does not hurt plants. Sow three pounds seed per acre. One acre of good seed-bed will set eight to twelve acres of ground. I have been able to get early plants by using cotton cloth instead of glass, from seed sown first of April. Fix boards around bed the same as for glass, tack cloth on top (common yard wide mus- lin, thin). SOWING SKKD IN OPKX AIK. 43 There is a growini:^ demand for early celery. A great many people use it early and late, and all the time when they can get it, and mourn hecause it is not in the market every day in the year. Hence the earlier you can have it ready in summer and the later you can keep it in winter, the longer the season and the greater the profit. Farther on you will find explicit directions how to build a storehouse into which celery is i)ut upon the approach of cold weather in the fall, and trim- med out in winter for the market. This makes a fine place for a hotbed by taking off the roof from the south side and putting in its place glass. Then in case there is need of it a stove can be put in to help keep it warm. Enough fine earth can be put in before it freezes in the fall for seed bed when ready to be used. There is considerable earth taken as a matter of course upon the roots of the celery when it is stored. When the celery is trimmed out pile the waste stalks, leaves and roots so they will rot down and be ready to mix with the soil. By having a pipe come from your windmill underground so as not to freeze, and up inside of the storehouse, terminating in a hydrant, the seed bed can be watered nicely by attaching a hose with a rose nozzle. The plant beds over the field can all be plowed and worked in as you come to them if the plants 44 CEI/ERY GKOWING. are out ; if not, as soon as the bed is free come back, fit the ground and mark out the rows to mate or conform to those already set, either full or parts of rows, taking some pains when selecting plants for the seed-bed to get large, strong ones. As they will be later set out, they need to be larger to catch up with their neighbors. It can all be done so as to show up an even field by using a little head work. I have known plants to be a j^erf ect fail- ure on one or two beds in a field and others in same field to be very fine. Hail storms, droughts, etc., are very destructive when they reach celery fields. GETTING EEADY TO SET THE PLANTS. As the first of May approaches, the land to be set with celery needs to be made ready. A set of soft-ground shoes are needed. You can make them yourself from a piece of 1|- inch plank, eight inches square ; cut holes for the calks, then bore a f -inch hole each side of the hoof, through which put a loop off iron rod with threads cut upon both ends, also burs ; slip the loop over the hoof so it will set near the upper edge of the hard part, then screw up so as to hold it in place. A horse will walk easily now where he would mire or fl_ounder without them. L. Brigham, of Decatur, Michigan, manufactures iron soft-ground shoes at one dollar apiece. I have a full set. They are just the thing. GETTING READY TO SET THE PIvANTS. 45 Now, in case your land is not thoroughly pul- verized and fined, or is grassy or weedy, go over it with a common harrow or a disk harrow and pul- verize just according to the needs of the case, then roll down with a heavy roller. JN'ow the ground is in condition and the plants are ready for setting. There is one more implement needed at once, that is; a marker, made similar to one for corn This difference, however, observe: have the mark ing teeth nearly perpendicular, and made so they can be changed from a three-foot to a four-foot gauge. Where you are to blanch with boards, tile, or paper, mark light, so as to set the plants upon the surface, and three feet between rows is about right. To blanch with earth they must be four feet apart, and trenched about four inches. The trenching can be done while marking. Take a strip of board, adjust upon each side of each tooth, leaving the tooth projecting two inches below the Lower edge of the board. Screw fast to the tooth, also screw a stay on the back of the flanges to make strong. Now you have something like a shovel-plow, and so light it is easily handled. Go in each row twice ; let the horse walk each time in last row. It makes a very nice trench to set plants in for earth bank, and at the same time throws the dirt well back from the row. By bearing dowa 46 CEI^ERY GROWING. or easing up you can make a uniform trench. Com- mence upon that part of the field where the high- est and driest ground is, so as to get the plants in there early, before the dry weather comes on. SECTIONING AND PLATTING LAND FOR CONVENIENCE IN BLANCHING. For the first row set a stake at each end just where it is to be, and drag a chain as a guide for the marker. In case there is not much dangej from weeds coming on, mark off all you calculate to blanch with boards, tile or paper. Leave a wagon road through the center of your field cross- wise the rows, where the rows are more than thirty rods long, as a convenience for getting boards to the celery and harvesting. Twelve feet wide is enough. I have 125,000 feet of lumber that blanches about twenty-two acres of my thirty-four acres each year, and am through with the boards in time to use them for my winter storehouses by first of October, some a little before. A large amount of labor can be saved by the following plan : Divide your rows off in sections of four rows each as far as you can set two rows of each section in May. After the last day of May, three rows to the section is enough. That is, set the first row marked, then skip the next three of that section. Now set the first row of the second THE WHEEI*. 49 section as far as you can set two rows of each sec- tion in May. After the last day of May then set one row and skip two, and so on through the field. In eight or ten days after the first row of the first section was x^ut in, go back and set the second row of all the sections through the field. Then in a few days set the third row, closing the fourth and last row soon after. About sixty-five days after the first rows are set they will be ready to blanch, and after the boards are put up to blanch them it will be fourteen to eighteen days before the celery is ready to gather. During the time the first rows of the sections are being blanched, the second rows will be making growth to equal in size the first rows. Kow when the first rows are white (stalk and heart leaves) lay the boards flat on the ground and harvest the rows as much as you want to mar- ket that day, then put the boards up to the next row, and so on each in its turn through the entire field. Be sure and have a driveway along the end of the rows. THE WHEEL, ITS CONSTRUCTION AND USE. {See cut No. 2.) To make a wheel, pin boards or plank together until you can cut out a wheel forty inches in diam- eter and SIX inches in thickness. Now put a two- inch hole exactly through the center ; drive in a 50 CEIwERY GROWING. tight-fitting oak pin, twenty-four inches long. Now this pin or shaft becomes a part of the wheel, and when in use revolves in the holes bored into the side pieces by which it is drawn, and is the main part of the framCo These pieces are about six feet long and one inch thick, with a pin put through their front ends to draw by. There is an upright handle at the rear of the wheel witii a cross-bar at- tached ; that is to steady it by and hold it verti- cally true when in use. The other works upon the frame are simply stays, except the hole punchers in the rim and two pieces of cross-cut saw blades for cleaners. Holes are bored into the center of the surface of the rim with a two-inch auger, five inches dee]^ and five inches apart, with a solid oak pin driven in each hole and projecting four inches from the surface. These pins are to punch the holes into which to set the plants. It does its work well. Soil is liable to stick to the rim and clog between the pins when wet. In order to overcome that use a pair of scrapers. Plave your blacksmith cut from old cross-cut saw blade two strips, two inches wide by fourteen inches long. Round and smooth one end a little so it will not cut the wood; also curve them like a sleigh runner, flatwise, just enough so that by punching two holes in the other end of each strip and screwing them solid to the outside of the frame just at rear of Avheel, with TAKING UP, SEPARATING AND SETTING. Si the edges resting within one-fourth inch of the rim of the wheel, the tip ends of the steels will just meet each other between the punching pins. Now as the wheel revolves, the pins pass through be- tween the tij)s of the steels and each one gets scraped in its turn and the rim also scraped. (See scrapers in cut.) Two men handle the wheel just as you see in the cut. When ready to commence setting take the first row. The man drawing will walk in the mark which has been made by the marker, while the one at the rear to steady walks a little to one side so as not to disturb the marks. As the wheel turns, each pin punches a hole for a plant ; the holes are about five inches apart. A row forty rods long has 1,42-1 holes. The soil rolls in and partly fills the holes as the wheel passes, but is readily taken out by the setter. TAKING UP, SEPARATING AND SETTING THE PLANTS. Run the wheel in as many rows as you have hands for setting, as it is very particular work and must be done well to get good results. It is best to have each hand set a complete row, as you are thereby enabled to keep the run of the good or bad work each one does by occasionally cross- ing the rows which are benig set, to test their pros- pect for living. You can then see who is setting 52 CELEKY GROWING. each row and be able to give instruction according to the needs of each case. The tap root must not be curled up. The earth must be pressed firmly around the plants In the mean time the plants are to be gathered and made ready for setting. Take them up with a common spade, kept sharp as a knife by the use of a flat file. Take a pair of sheep- shears, cut the tops of the plants off two inches above the ground, then the loaves cannot evaporate the moisture from the root before it commences to draw support from the earth through its new rootlets, which will show in forty-eight hours after setting in favorable weather. Common milk-pans are good to sort the plants into for carrying to the field. Everything being now ready to commence gather- ing, slide the spade full length of blade right un- der the plants, cutting the tap root If inches be- loAV the surface of the ground, sliding each spade- iuU ofi^ upon a vacant spot of ground where those who gather into pans will have room to work. Each separator needs two pans, one for the large plants and one for the small, so when set in the row each grade will be by itself and the large can- not overshadow the small and so keep them from growing. Or you can set the small ones close in a bed and transplant to the field after they get larger ; for hothouse plants it is a good way to do. !/3 TAKING UP, SEPARATING AND SETTING. SS When putting the plants into the pans separate each plant one from the other. Put no grass or weeds in ; have the plants stand nearly upright in the pans, and press close together to keep the air from the roots. Stand the pan while filling it at a slant, so the plants will lean a little, then when the pan is filled put in a handful of earth where the last plant was put, so as to mark the gpot for the setter to commence taking out. You will find they come out nicer that way. Then sprinkle each pan of plants with a little water to keep them fresh, and cover with canvas. The pans can be taken to the field on a wheelbarrov/. Lay thin boards cross- wise, set on one tier of pans, lay boards on top of pans, then another tier of pans, and so on until you have a load. Distribute a few pans every eight rods through the strip that is being set with plants so they will be handy for the setters. Cover each lot with canvas. It is better to have one set of hands to set the plants, another to separate. The latter women or girls can do, and they make the best kind of help. Setting is easy work as you get accustomed to it. Get upon your knees with a pan of plants opposite, just across the row and within easy reach (see plate 'No. 3). Take out the last plant put in the pan, grasping it between the thumb and index finger of the left hand, one-quarter inch above the 56 CEI^ERY GROWING. crown. With the right hand take out the soil that has fallen into the hole made by the wheel, then place the root into the hole against the left side, letting the hand holding the plant rest upon the ground, keeping hold of the plant as advised until you have filled and packed the earth well around the root with the right, that being your guide to having the plant set just the right depth in the ground, which is one-quarter inch deeper than it grew in the bed, thus keeping the air away from the roots. Plants set with care as advised will nearly every one live, even in hot weather. It is much better to take extra care and time is setting than to set loosely and depend upon their living by watering them. My hands average five thousand plants per day when the soil is in a good moist state. The drier the soil the slower the work, as more time is re- quired to firm it around the root. Each setter must have a dibble — a sort of a spud — to make holes for the plants in case of hard places in the field. In setting plants upon mellow ground the pack- ing of the earth about the roots always settles the plant at least two inches below the level of the land. In case of hard rain-storms it will wash in and cover the plants, hence the earth must be scraped back from both sides of the row. There THE SCRAPER. [Cut No 4 ) CARING FOR OPEN-AIR SEED-BEDS. 59 is no tool just right for that work, but you can make one by taking a piece of board twenty-four inches long by four wide, and one-half inch thick, chamfer one edge and screw a strip of hoop-iron in front of the chamfer, then attach a handle six feet long and you have a good tool for scraping back the earth. (See cut No. 4.) This we will call the scraper. Then again, when setting in furrows for earth banking, there is more earth to scrape back, as the celery is several inches below the surface. CARING FOR OPEN-AIR SEED-BEDS. Keep the seed-beds free from weeds, and thin out the plants where they are too thick. It is well to be prepared to water the beds, as sometimes the April or May droughts are very severe. There is a critical time in a plant's life, and it* must have moisture just as it is coming up. By having inch- pipe laid through your seed-beds to connect with windmill, by the use of hose and a rose nozzle you can water the beds. In weeding or thinning out carry oft all waste so as not to obstruct the growth of plants. After mowing rake off the tops. Always be sure and sow enough so as to set nothing but plants of the best order. Some are weak and will never make a good head, others have no heart ; such should invariably be thrown away. 60 CEUCKV GUOVVING. There will always be some plants in a bed niuch larger tlum the general run. Those will come in fine play to prick out one at a time through the bed, with some soil at the roots, and set in where the hotbed plants have died out of the rows, in case there are any such. If not, they can be used to set whole rows in order to keep the work mov- ing along — that is, where the hotbed plants have all been set and the others are not large enough to spade. CARE OF CELERY AFTER SETTING. After having set the plants the ground must be kept free from weeds. Don't let them get any more than a start. The Planet Junior Cultivator is a good tool for that purpose, also to keep the soil loosened up; yet you cannot take the weeds out of the row with it. Have your blacksmith make a tool this way: Use a thin piece of steel fourteen inches long by three wide, with one edge kept sharp by use of file. Have handle like that of garden-rnke fastened within one inch of the top of the IJnck of the blade, with braces going near the ends of blade. You will soon become expert in the use of it. By stand- ing a little ahead of your work it will tnke nearly every weed out of a row from between the plants. Then once in tlie season, in c.-ise the w(hh1s are bad, go over it with a hand weculer, made of a piece HAND WF^KDKK. {Cul No. 5.) HAND WEKDICK. {Cut No. 5 ) CARE OE CEI.ERY AFTER SETTING. 6S of hoop-iron (see cut 'No. 5) fourteen inches long with the ends brought together for a handle, and four inches of the center in a blade, kej)t sharp to scrape the weeds out from between the plants when they get about five inches high. After plants grow of much size they make it so shady the weeds cannot grow, so that by cultivat- ing "you will be able to keep the land perfectly free from weeds and mellow as an ash bed. Weeds like purslane and pigweed should never be left to go to seed upon the ground. In case they escape attention in the forepart of the season and get ad- vanced enough to mature seed when pulled up, gather in baskets and carry off. My grounds, which have grown eight crops, are not much weedy yet, by exercising the precaution given. Yet the land has been very heavily manured. The weeds of course start, but are not allowed to go to seed. Some plants (by an inherent right, I guess) grow with more vigor than others even after exercising the care in setting as heretofore noted, and as a re- sult of such growth, if not checked, a great many plants per acre fail to make even heads. There- fore, when they get five inches high, take a com- mon hoe, make sharp with a file (and keep so), and go over the field, holding the handle vertical at your side, and with a swinging motion of the hoe head the large plants all back. While they are 64 CFJvKR\' (".ROWING. rallying for n now start the small ones are coming right along, so afterwards the size will not differ much. I have practiced it for four years, and de- rive great benefit from it. After the celery gets eight inches high, the ground becomes well lilled with roots ; then if you continue to cultivate do it very lightly, so as to break as few roots as possible, as it has a tendency to check its growth if the ground is worked deep between the rows. 'Now the rows have all been set, but there may be some plants missing that have failed to grow from not having been well put in, or a very poor l^lant set out that should have been rejected. Go over all the rows. Set in large p hints where there is one missing and take out those that look feeble, as they will not make good heads. Plants should all be set by the 10th of July. Celery appreciates warm weather, and does not make rapid growth without it. MATERIALS USED AND PREPARATIONS FOR BLANCHING. Tile-blanched celery is very^ fine, but it is not practicable on a large scale. It is only done by slow work and is too expensive. But with a few hun- dred heads for the garden it is fine. Take two pieces of tin or sheet-iron fifteen inches long, shaped like a half-tile sawed in two lengthwise. Put the two MATERIALS USED FOR BI,ANCHING. 65 pieces together with three hinges so they will readily open and fold. This we call a *' folder." Open it, place the concave part against the plant with one end of the folder near the ground, press the i^lant into the concave of the folder with one hand and gradually close the folder around the plant with the other, letting the edges slip past each other a little so that a four-inch drain tile will slip over the folder down to the ground. Now withdraw the folder ; the tile is doing its work. Have the tile set along the rows ahead so as to have them handy. Paper is also too expensive except upon a small scale foV private use. Take common brown paper twelve inches by twenty-four in size. Have No. 24 wire cut ready, in length fourteen inches. Put the folder around the head of celery the same as for tile. Wrap the paper around the folder the narrow way hoice. It must have two thicknesses to keep out the light. Wrap one wire around two inches below the top. Draw out the folder, letting the bottom of the paper rest upon the ground, and so on. The paper cannot well be used more than once. So much for tile and paper. Now we come to boards. They will please you, I think. Get good barn boards without black knots, twelve inches wide and sixteen feet long. Have them surfaced 66 CElvSRY GROWING, on both sides, ns that makes theiri lighter, smooth to handle, and will last longer, as they dry quicker after getting wet. Yon can try ten-inch boards. I have done so, but upon the whole think the twelve- inch are best. Pine, pretty free from sap, is the kind to get. Common lumber warps too badly. This lumber can bo drawn at your leisure, and one- fourth piled along the ends of the rows upon each side of the field, and the balance piled where it will be handy to draw to the center road when you get ready to use it, in case you have a center road, but if not, draw it all to the ends, always piling so it will keep dry. MAKING THE HOOKS. After the first rows have been set sixty-fivo days, if they have mack^ a fair growth they will stand fifteen inches in height. Now is the time to com- mence blanching them. A few things must be done yet, however. The wire hooks to hold the boards up to the celery are to be made. Use a piece of three-inch wagon-tire eighteen inches long, with six holes a little lai-ger than No. 9 wire punched in the edges of one end, and with some large holes in the other end, through which to spike it fast to a solid block ; or an iron vise can be used to good advantage. Take unannealed No. 9 wire; with heavy wire cutters, cut tlie pieces for the hooks HOOKS FOR BOARDS. {Cut No. «) t ^1 HOOKS FOR BOARDS. {Cat No. G ) PI,ACIN(} THK hOAKDS. 69 eight indies long and at a slant, so the end of each point will be sharp enough to stick in the board and hold just as put. Now, to complete the hook, stick one end of the wire into a hole of the bar about one inch and bend it a little more than at a right angle, so the sharp point will stick into the board. Now do the other end the same. It requires as many hooks as boards. Lay the hooks in' pans as they are completed, ready for use. (See cut No. 6.) GETTING THE BOARDS ALONG THE ROWS. Now we are ready to lay the boards alongside the rows, which is done by the men carrying two boards at a time upon their shoulders, laying both down by the side of the row to be blanched, then taking the top one and laying it over upon the op- posite side of same row. Carry one-half way through from the ends to the center road, then load upon a broad-tire wagon and distribute the other .half way by drawing through center road. You can have a light cart with wheels six feet apart drawn by a horse, or men. With that spread to the wheels, they will each track just half way be- tween the rows at three feet apart. I do not think this is as good a way as carrying upon the shoulder; because with the cart you will spoil some celery, the other way none. Make the men handle boards care- fully so as not to split, and they are good f(jr years. 70 CEIyERY GROWING. PUTTING THE BOARDS IN POSITION FOR BLANCHING. Now we have the boards delivered. Raise the outer edge of the boards and shove them under the celery leaves and press against the heads of celery, then raise up the outer edges, bringing boards to a perpendicular. JN'ow step astride of the boards, hold them in position with the legs, bring in a little earth with the feet, to hold the bottom from springing out as you press the tops together. Have the pan of hooks within reach, take out two, slip one over the boards about three feet from each end. The boards should be about four inches apart in case the celery is good size ; if not, a little closer, which can be done by turning the wire hooks a lit- tle crosswise on the boards. Now put up another set the same way, having the ends fitting square against the first ones, and so on. Always commence at center road to work, so if boards do not come out even it will occur at the opposite end of rows. You will probably need some shorter ones at the eilds, as the regular- length does not of course always come out just even. Hence saw to fit. It needs a little earth drawn up to the bottom of the boards with the scraper to keep the light from shining under. Bear in mind that the darker the row can be made the more perfect the blanching, and the quicker. The absence of light causes VATS FOR WASHING. 71 celery to turn white. Heat favors blanching. Cold retards. Hot sun or wind will change the boards a little. Go over them in five days and right them. Now we have the crop well under way. There are several important matters near at hand that need our attention, such as gathering, washing, boxing, and marketing. All of these branches need to be in proportion to the amount of celery raised. VATS FOR WASHING. For from one. to ^ve acres have two washing vats made, three feet long by two wide, and one foot deep. Material should be pine, one and one-half inches thick. They should be located where the water is handy, as it requires plenty of water. You need a small building to bunch and tie it in. If growing only for home use just blanch and gather as needed until cold weather approaches, then store it away upon the cellar bot- tom with some earth on the roots, or build a small storehouse out of doors, as per description further on. PREPARING FOR HARVESTING AND MARKETING A CROP OF EIGHT TO FORTY ACRES. WATER FOR WASH- ING AND NECESSARY BUILDINGS. A windmill is a good way and cheap for getting a good supply of water. Usually, just where the 72 CElyERY GROWING. lowlands commence to rise into the high, will be found the most abundant supply of water. This is a good location for the buildings necessary for convenience. In order to wash celery quickly and cheaply it must be done by hydraulic power. Hence arrange- ments need to be made with that in view. To commence, erect a frame sixteen feet high to sup- port a water tank. The tank, twelve feet high and ten in diameter at the base, will hold about two hun- dred barrels of water, with a pressure of twenty- two feet when half full, or twenty-eight when full. This gives plenty of force for washing celery. Have all the water pipes under ground out of the way of frost, except the one from the surface of the ground to the tank ; in freezing weather, that can be wraj)ped with some material to keep out the frost. A building for washing, bunching, tying and box- ing must be erected, thirty feet square, with a par- tition through the center, running east and west so as to get the sunshine in the washing and tying room in the south half of building, with boxing and shipping in the north half. Let there be two openings in the partition, three feet square each, through which to pass the celery, after tying, into the boxing room. Have sliding doors to close the openings when needed. Have the center of the openings one-fourth of the length of the partition •4 6 o < I— ( X If} ^ K H HARVESTING CELERY. 75 from the ends. The bottom of the opening should be two feet eleven inches above the floor. Now build a table upon each side of the partition, just the same height and two feet wide, of perfectly smooth boards. The one in the boxing room is to let the celery stand on while draining, and the one in the washing part is the tying table. See cuts ]N''o. 7 and 8, which represent the washing and ty- ing processes. The washing and tying room needs to be well lighted. It is very fine to have a row of sashes running the whole of the south side so as to get plenty of light for washing, as there is the place to locate the washing rack. Let it occupy the whole length of the south side, unless it should be just room for a door through which to bring in the celery from the field. In case the building stands where the ends are accessible, have one door in each end just half way between the washing rack and the tying table, wdth both doors swinging outward. The washing rack is to be located against the south wall, two feet wide, twenty-eight inches high at the front edge and twenty-five at the back edge, with no floor under it, but a small ditch to carry off the wash water. The rack is made of strips, one by three inches, placed edgewise and two inches apart. Celery is to be laid upon this while being washed, crosswise of the slats, wdth the tops from the CJCI^lvKV GUOWING. washer. A pipo must coine under ground from the tank pipe up into this room near the center of the rack, and six inches above the floor; to this attach hose with a small nozzle which throws a solid stream. For washirig celery, place it U[)on the rack about two or three heads deep. Play the water upon it once over, then turn and repeat, which drives the dirt from it. This room is to have a stove in it as cold weather comes on, but the packing room has no stove, flave the pipe to which the hose is attached ter- minate in a hydrant with cock attached to turn water off and on the hose. Lay the floor of this room open, with cracks one-half inch. The washing vats before mentioned are very handy in this room occasionally, in case of break in the water works. Fill one vat two-thirds full of celery with tops all one way. Fill with water. Have a limber corn-brush broom. Take your po- sition at the end of the vat where the butts of the celery are, run the brush over two or three heads at a time, held in one hand just under water, so the motion of the water will aid in cleaning. Have the other vat stand close beside filled with water to rinse in, as it cannot be cleaned thorough- ly in one water. All of these rooms and their paraphernalia should be in fine working order a little ahead of the har- 00 o < BUNCHING AND TYING. 79 vest, US that is ti very busy ])art of the season, and unless tilings are in readiness confusion will take possession where order should reign supreme. HOW TO MAKE A BOX IN WHICH TO KUNCH AND TIE cp:lery. It is necessary to tie celery in some slia})e for its appearance in market, and I thiidc- there is no better mode than ])utting twelve heads in a bunch and tying with two cords or tape. (See cut JN^o. 9.) The bunching box is five and one-half inches wide^ the same in height and ten inches long. The bot- tom piece is one inch thick. The sides can be of wood, although heavy rubber belting is much better, as the celery is not bruised by coming in contact with it as with a hard substance. AJ.EOTTJNCr SPACE TO TYERS. Each tyer must have a 1k)X, and there is rooiri for four tyers at this thirty-foot tying table ; hen(;e each tyer has seven feet and six inches space, dividdd as follow s : Mark off four feet and six inches from each end of the tying table. That space is to lay the celery as it comes to the tyer from the washing rac^k. 'Now set a tying l)ox with the end outward, and the bottom centering upon this mark. Measure from each mark six feet farther along, set a tying l)ox n})on each mark. This space is for two tyers to stand their celery after it is tied and taken 80 CEIvKRY GROWING. from the box; it will stand oj^posite the openings into the packing or boxing room. The remaining nine feet of space at the center of the table is for the laying of the celery from the washing rack for the two center tyers. ADJUSTING FOR THE FOOT LEVER. In tying celery there is too much resistance to bring the cord tight enough with the fingers to hold it. We must have foot leverage. Arrange as follows : Take 12 or 14 oz. ducking. Make a band two inches wide, having it three thicknesses, stitched along the edges and through the middle, three feet long. This makes a soft and strong band. Now cut an opening through the tying table, two inches from the edge, each side of the tying box. Put one end of the ducking band down through each hole thus made, and astride the box filled with celery. Take a strip of board four inches wide, and as long as the tying table is wide; this is for the foot lever. Fasten with a hinge at the back end, to the wall, six inches from the floor, having the lever exactly under the tying box. Put a staj^le in the lever two inches back from a periDcndicular from where the band hangs suspended. JN^ow sew a leather strap one inch wide between the two ends of the band, slide a buckle upon the strap, put the end through the staple, and buckle so as to get the right length ffi^ |||!l|||||||il|j|||||il||||l|!:!ili!|ll|!!l|!il|il|ll|ll!|l|iill|l!:^1!B^ BUNCHING BOX. {Cut JSo. 9 ADJUSTING FOR Till-: ]'"<)OT I,I':viCK. 83 when ilio loot is U[>oiiL tho end of l(3V(;r. (Jul (hjvvn the sides of the box whore tlio hiiud goes over it, so the pressure will all be uj)ou the celery from tho top. It is customary to have two grades of launches, the first with twelve or thirteen heads, and tho second with an indefinite riumb(5r of small heads, having the bunch a little smaller than the first grade. When filling the box hit the butts stick over the end an inch, and when ready to tie raise tho band up over the butts of the celery, letting the pressure come upon tho bunch an inch or so back from tho ends ; .put foot upon lever ; thus you see tho celery in the box can be pressed snugly together, and held so by the foot, while the cord is )>eing tied around it. The rubber belting for sides of bo.\, with duck- ing strap, does not bruise it either. K^ow [)ringthe cord over the end, tie in a hard knot, draw ofl* the band over the butts ; now tie cord without pressure at the tops, but not very tight, as it does not look well for the bunch to see it j)inched in small. Take it out of the box, stand it upon the table in its allotted place, pinch off all the leaves that give it a shabby appearance, so that it will look symmet- rical and neat and show well in the iriarket. When celery is at its best, it is easily bruised in harvest- ing and washing, and, unless in very careful hands, suffers some by tho time it is ready for the market. 84 CKIvKKV GROWING. BEAUTY OF ROPE CRATES. {See cut No. 10.) By the use of this appliance celery can be han- dled in bulk from the field until it lands upon the tying table. It saves all of that handling and pull- ing apart of a few heads at a time, breaking ' stalks, tearing off leaves, and the general multila- tion of the heads after they once become entangled together. Any one can make them. Always have a goodly lot, as they are cheap and so very handy. I have for my thirty-four acres about sixty. THEIR CONSTRUCTION OF ROPE. Each crate has three round pieces of wood two feet long, about the size of a broom-handle, one at each end and one through the middle, with a little notch cut in to keep the rope from slipping where- ever it is attached to them. The crate is carried by the sticks at the ends ; the center one keeps it spread out all the time. Little tamarack poles when peeled.make good ones. The ropes are in size about that of a clothes line; cut them thirty-six inches long, tie knots in the ends ; then loop with one knot around the stick, and draw tight. You can pick out all the points of construction by looking sharjj at the cut. Cut No. 11 shows a man handling a crate of celery. After being trimmed in the field, it is laid upon the crate, then brought to the wash house in wheel- ROPE CRATE. [Cut No. 10.) BUNCHING AND PACKING. 87 barrow, cart or Avagon. The crates can be laid upon each other without harm, until you have a load. For washing lay one tier of crates upon the rack at a time. Wash while upon the crates, then when washed, lay it upon the tyers' tables, still in the crates, and they take it from the crates as they bunch it. It can, however, be rolled out of the crate upon the table without much .harm if done with care. There is another way to handle the trimmed celery, that is, in boxes, and it is well to have some of them on hand for extra occasions. Use three-fourths inch pine lumber for bottoms and ends, and one-half inch for sides. Make boxes thirty-six inches long, twelve wide and same in height. Nail strong. Secure the corners by wire staples, as the nails are liable to pull out while in use. Celery can be stood up or laid down. These boxes come in better play when trimming out of the storehouse than in any other place. This same kind of a box is used in carrying the celery into the storehouse Avhen secur- ing the crop for winter. PASSING THE BUNCHES INTO THE PACKING ROOM, ALSO FINISHING ITS CONSTRUCTION. As the space upon the tying table gets filled, pass it through the opening into the packing or box- ing room and stand it upon the table there, which 88 CEI^EKY GROWING. we will call the draining table. As it takes some time for the water to drain out after it is bunched, it should always be set upright, and there needs to be more room than the one drain table already men- tioned. Build another just like it against the opposite wall, then by laying paper upon the floor underneath, and standing the celery upon that, you find room for as much more. HAVING THE PACKING ROOM ICED. By doing off a space in this room to store a few tons of ice, you will derive a great advantage from it, as celery is quite perishable in hot weather. By storing it with ice in the winter, and replenishing as it melts out in summer, and keeping the open- ings closed between the two rooms except when passing through the celery bunches, it can be kept cold and go into the packing boxes or cases cold, consequently not sutfer from the warm weather. BUILDING HOUSE FOR BOX LUMBER, TO MAKE THE BOXES IN, ETC. Close by the packing department needs to be a building, about thirty feet square, to hold the box lumber and make the boxes in, repair return boxes, etc. The building need only be common, to keep out storms, etc. Have all boxes returned when the freight is less than new ones. CARRYING CELERY IN ROPE CRATE. (Gut No. 11.) BOXING CEIvEKY. 91 SELECTING AND PREPARING LUMBER FOR BOXES. Basswood lumber makes good boxes if it is plump inch. Surface both sides, then resaw ; by so doing, one thousand feet makes two. This has plenty of strength for the sides of boxes or cases, but for the rims of cases, have them three-fourths inch thick, and the same for ends. For bottoms of boxes, pine will make good material. During the warm weather it is best to ship in flat cases, say twenty-six or twenty -eight inches one way by thirty the other, and seven or eight inches thick, according to size, of bunches. Boxes or cases must al- ways be made to fit the celery, as it must not be loose in the" box so as to scrub around. Hence the size will dej^end upon the season, fertility of land, etc. For the first year it is best to saw the lumber into lengths such as you need, after your crop is grown, and you know what is required ; but after that you perhaps can tell about what you will need and have it sawed into lengths at the mill. In order to ascertain what size of case is required, lay out the bunches close together, just as it is to be placed into the case, then measure the space it occupies, and make case accordingly. BOXING CELERY. When boxing to ship by cars, always let the tops lap past and upon each other, and the butts always 92 CEIyERY GROWING. to the end of box. Have the tops lajD enough to keep even with the butts, and when filled be no sag or looseness in the center of box. Just one single layer of bunches is all that is put into a case, usually ten dozen. As cool weather comes on, ship in boxes that hold from twelve to twenty dozen, but those that hold sixteen are the best. Have the box a few inches longer than the celery, line with thin brown paper so that the sides will not chafe ; put in with care two rows of bunches abreast. The size I use for No. 1 celery is thirty inches long, twenty-four high, and twelve wide. That is the size for sixteen dozen. Press in so that there will be no chucking around while in transit. When loading into and unloading from the wagon for shipment do it with care. While going to shipping place with load, always cover with canvas to keep cool, especially in warm weather. PACKING ROOM SHOULD BE FROST PROOF. The outside walls of the packing room and its roof must be frost proof. A very good way to have it so is to make it with two sets of studding, twelve inches apart, filled in with sawdust and lined inside with parchment building paper ; for the roof, fill in with forest leaves. These modes are of course cheap and efficient, yet there are other ways of obtaining the same results. PACKING ROOM SHOUI.D EK FROST PROOF. 93 There is liable to be extensive loss, besides an endless amount of vexation, unless a celery grower is prepared to meet the ch.-^.nging elements, and the general condition of things as they come along. We can make money by expending money in judi- cious outlays. Ifyouarein earnest in growing cel- ery, don't be afraid that it will net pay you to take the best ot care of it. The crop can be kept until mid winter, or even into May, but everyone must learn for themselves by experience whether it is pro- fitable to keep late or not. By having the packing room frost proof, there will be two valuable benefits derived : It will be cool in summer, and warm in winter. In case you are still marketing when a real cold time comes along, you are prepared to be safe from a loss. By leaving a little fire in the washing room stove at night to keep the water works from freezing, and having all of the celery put into the packing room, you will ])e able to keep right along at your busi- ness without suffering loss. If you are a little fear- ful that the frost will get into the packing room on any particularly cold night, leave more fire in the washing room stove, and leave the slide doors open, or pack the celery in the boxes. Have them well lined with paper, as it will take several degrees extra cold to reach it when so secured. In fact boxes should always be lined in winter in shipping 94 CEi^EKY GROWING. any distance, even in mild times, as it is liable to turn very cold within a few hours, A TOOL HOUSE NEEDED. Have the buildings all stand near together. I find there is one yet lacking to make the set com- plete, that is, a tool house, from sixteen to twenty feet square, for the celery tools and the parapher- nalia required incident to a successful business. Around the walls have hooks and nails to hang up spades, crates, canvas covers, saws, etc. **A place for everything, and everything in its place," is a good motto to place in full view in this building. IKRIOATING THE CROP. I w^ish to call attention to this point : Those who find they liav^e the land, and are going to follow this branch of horticulture, in case there is any way to irrigate the land should get it in readiness as soon as possible. My own experience in this gives me data from which to advise. The two years of 1888 and 1889 were years of noted droughts here ; no rain to wet for several months; each year I lost twelve acres. My crop was several thousand dol- lars short of what it would have been had the ground been irrigated. During this time I was studying how it could be done. There was no stream IRRIGATING TH^ CROP. 95 of water that could be utilized. The only show was from beneath. In the mean time I learned that there Avas gravel under most of these peat beds. There was in my field, just where the high land breaks into the low, a moist place ; it was at the head of a drain ditch, which runs one hundred and twenty rods through the center of the whole length of my celery field. I dug down three feet in this moist spot, came to gravel, went two feet farther, when water came in very fast. I now saw I had a bonanza in water, consequently planned to dig a reservoir at once, and j)\it in some kind of a pump to lift the water out into the ditch. A hole was now dug down, seven feet deep, twenty feet long and ten feet wide. It had to be curbed, as the inflow of water was so great, after getting down 'Q.VG feet, that the banks would not stand the flow of water undermining them. I had a fourteen-foot windmill erected, put in an incline pump of my own make, and irrigated my celery crop in 1890 for the first. After running the IDump a few weeks, and still no rains, the inflow of water diminished, and the cry was *^more water.'' So I explored the gravel dej^th, which was quite coarse, and found it continuous. I then drove down into the bottom of the reservoir, at different levels, from eight to twenty-six feet, twelve pipes with points attached, such as are used fur drive wells ; in Hizcv^ six were oiio ;ui(l onc-iourlli, and six wcro two inclics ill dininctcr. Tlicy wor(3 distributed over the siirfaeo ol' IIkj l)()tt()iu of the reservoir, and driven so that only six inclies ol' llie top end ot tlie ])ipo was above the gnn^el, and ea(;li one oftheiu threw a full stream without any diminution of vol- ume, of water whieli liad como in at tlio surface of the bottom. Now there was plenty of water; did not see the bottom again. I now becamo convinced that tiio windmill lacked })()vver except on very windy days. It should lia\'e been twenty feet in sizo instead of fourteen. As I liad no engine (which by tlio way in just the thing) 1 borrowed an old- fashioned horse-power of a neighbor, and used that with two horses for the balance of the season with pei-f(M',t success. The pump was fashioned as follows (I had seen tlio same princij)le demonstrated in draining gold mines in California) : Take two hardwood boards, such as will wear smooth, ono inch thick after be- ing surfa(ted, tw(>lvo inches wide and fourteen feet long. One of these is for the bottom of the i)ump spout, the other is for the top ; lay a four-inch block bcdween the two. Screw on side pieces same length and you have a spout twelve by four inches inside in tho clear. Now screw and brace, just over the o[)eiung at ono cud, two upright i)ieces, ono upon eac'h side, to hold a wood boxing in which to run IKUIGATINO TlIlC CKUr. an iron sliaft of Ihroo-iiich gns ]>iiH', wliicli is to (^'irry a (Iriim made) of wo(j spout will be six inches above the bottcnu of tlie reservoir. Go slowly when lirst starting the pump, as it is 98 CEI^KKY GROWING. liribleto give such motion to tlio water that the gravel will whirl into the pump and clog it, but as soon as the water can ho lowered enough, shovel out a pit and stake down a floor four or five feet square, under the end where the water boils as the buckets come around. I run the water back to the far end of the field through the center ditch, then cut an open lateral ditch each way from it twelve inches wide and fif- teen deep, nearly to the far side of celery field, which is forty rods each way, the main ditch being in the center of eighty acres. In about half my lateral ditches I have put six-inch tile, which works to a charm. This first ditch is six rods from the end ot the celery field. Then there is a lateral ditch every twelve rods upon each side, same as first, clear back to head of field. I have water enouirh to run three ditches at the same time. The water soaks through the ground and meets at center line between the two laterals in about four days. I dam those up and set three new ones in motion, and so on. I have several rises interspersed through my grounds, of gravelly soil, and too high for celery because I cannot wet them. Tliis whole system of irrigation costs but little, and in a droughty year is worth from two to three hundred dollars per acre, so you see that the extra production of one acre will more than pay for it in one crop. During a run of KKVIEWINc; TinC C1':Iv1^:RY KIICIvD and TIIJC WOKKMICN. 99 wet years no irrigation is re(|uired, but in sucli droughty ones as 1888, 1889 and 1890 everything needs irrigating. There is another system by which land can be irrigated Ironi an open or a drive well or any head of water supply, just in proportion to tlio supply and capacity of machine. It is Gould's Centrifugal Pump. I })resume any home dealer- in that line could inform you about it. It is comparatively a new device, however. There is a man in my town who puts them in, by the name of L. M. Waldron. lie hel[)ed me put mine in that has been described. There are some places where irrigating can be done from a spring or creek upon the premises. Of course those are choice places. REVIEWING THE CELERY FIELD AND THE WORKMEN, We have the crop now well under way, being nearly ready to commence raking in the shekels. This gives an impetus to business. There needs to be from the very starting of the business a head to it, in order to inspire a high grade of success. If this is not the owner himself, then he should have a wel!-])aid superintendent — well-paid in order that we can reasonably expect his very best ef- forts. To have capacity, he must be the possessor of order, system, ingenuity, a desire to turn out a superior production, and earn his money. By tlie way, those fellows are not very plentiful. 100 CKIyEwv c.K'ovv'rNG. I trust T in.'iy ]h) ])nr(l<)iir(l for giving iny oxperl- ciU'O in this line. Vv'ira i'nv ordinary f;irni labor heroin Micliigaii isonodollar and twcnty-fivo cents ])rrday. Now my plan is this: (Jet the best hands and pay the best wages — thai is, ])ay each one just "vv hat they can earn, man or woman, by exercising prudeiKH^, thoughtfulness, diligent aXtention to busi- ness, lh(5 exam|)le tlix^y set Ix^ton^ th(^ rest ol* the workmen, a,nd with a, willing hand and heart to help in every emergency. My cheapest male help has one dollai* and lil'ty ceids jkm* day. If he cannot earn that J don't kee}> Jiim. J\ever have a man that goes into a saloon, or who associates with the class who do, as the contamination is fatal. I pay from the oneiil'ty ])er(lay nj) to six huiidivd dollars pel' year; most of my day lahoi-ers, however, get two dollars per day. Men hy the month, from twenty to forty dollars a.nd board. ^riKu^onsequence is my help slay right alongyear after year, andall Lay \\[> money. On the avei-age I employ twelve hands. From three to four are women, who live upon the place. They se[)arate the plants, and ])ut them into the pans, whih^ the men set them out. They also weed out ih(^ plant beds, and do all the bunching and tying. 1'hey are choice help. Of course I do not put Ihem at anyol'the hard woi'k. Those 1 em[)loy ha\'e been with me lour years. At lilty cents per KKVlKWiNc; 'Ji: , c j<;t,KKY )'iuj,i) and Tiu^, wokrmicn. 101 hundred ibr})uii(:hiii^';ui(l ty 111,1; (-clcry some oriheni earn two d(jllur.s [x'l* d.-iy. Tlicy nro neater and more painstaking with their work, usually, tlian men; (consequently their lielp is worth more, rather than less, than ]rien's. I h.ive three good houses upon the place, o(-(5Upie([ l>y i'uriilies. I also have h(dp, both male and female, that have worked for mo four y(\Mrs without giving me an unkind or sauey word, and they have not been balned either. Every one must attend strictly to })usiness in})usi- ness hours. Thc^y are not of the hnv, l>esotted whisky grades ]lel|) which do not save their earn- ings arc usually of the very poorest order. There is no time, after the celery has been set in the fuild until the last head has been gathered, that the superintendent should not give all parts of the field a personal ins[)ection every oth(;r day, so that in case anything is going wrong it c;ui be rightcid before getting toofnr gone. When pl.-iids ;jr(5 first set, the earth is to he scraped ba(;k; if not well done, and a heavy wash ingrain-storm comes on, plants are liable to be covered at the heart with soil and spoiled. There is a yellow worm, known as the wire-worm, which is an enemy to tli(i young ])lant, : seen or tasted it. I learn this fact from the voluntary testimony I get through the 116 C^I^ERY GROWING. mails from my patrons all over the country, in the manner they express tome their surprise upon see- ing such fine celery as shipped from here, and in their comparison of it with what they have been sell- ing. The new order of things that has been brought into existence recently in this vicinity is a move beyond the conception of the oldest grower or dealer upon the continent. To see is to be fully persuaded. Market gardeners have seen it in their markets in many States, and they are so far be- hind that they track it up and find where it is grown, so as to get the points necessary to com- pete. ''Thus is this age improving upon the age that went before." There is still another way to ship, that is, by a way refrigerator line which is now in operation upon many of the roads ; that is, a refrigerator car stoj)S at all stations two or three times per week and carries all perishable goods in that car at reg- ular freight rates, so in case you are supplying any house upon such lines, it is a cheap way of trans- portation. TAKING A REVIEW, AND MAKING AN ADVANCE AFTER- WARDS, AND GETTING SOME STOREHOUSE MATERIAL READY. Now you have your markets established and are harvesting the crop as it ripens, washing it clean, KEVIEWING THE WORK. 117 preparing it for the market in as good shape as you can, and learning each day by experience. Keep right on doing that way. The growing sea- son is short, and the work must all be kept right up even, so as not to have anything to do in the month of October which can be done before, as that is a very busy month. It will pay you well in the long run to put a fair share of your crop into store for winter, as the de- mand for it is more extensive than at any other season of the year. If you quit furnishing your patrons as soon as winter comes, they will not like it, as they will have to go without for the rest of the season in case they can not find some one else to supjily them, and the next year you may fail to get their custom for fear of being again left. Then again, by storing the season is made longer, and the work can be done with less help, and the help is much better satisfied, as they have a chance to work more months in the year. Bear in mind that expense of storing is light in comjDarison with the benefits derived, inasmuch as you have the lumber (in the blanching boards) already upon the ground. You will have to secure another set of hands for taking up and putting the celery into the store- houses, so much of it as you are unable to get into market by the first of November, as that is the very latest that it will do to have any of it left outside. 118 CEIvERY GROWING. It sometimes is hurt by freezing, even before that date. It cannot stand a lower degree of co^d than twenty-eight after it is ripe without serious injury. Therefore, if you have a large acreage you will need to be ready to put some in by the middle of October. Make arrangements in the spring before setting out the celery, for a site for the storehouses, or at least a part of them. Get them as near the wash- house as you can for convenience in cold weathero You will need to cut in time coarse grass, wide blades, enough to cover the roof of the storehouses eight or nine inches in depth, and have it stacked handy by. In case that cannot be procured, straw or chaff can be used. Now for poles to support the roof, and posts to support the poles. Have them also ready, then they will be seasoned and light to handle. Straight poles are the thing, from three to ^ve inches in diameter. Peel them while green. Tamarack or spruce make nice ones. In case you cannot get poles, use scantling four by four. The posts can be made from material of any kind, so it has the strength. Perhaps the first year that you are in the busi- ness, you would not care to make very extensive arrangements for storing, but it would be best to put up one or two storehouses anyway for the ex- perience afterward. BANKING WITH EARTH. 119 BANKING WITH EARTH FOR BLANCHING, ALSO AS A BROTECTION AGAINST THE FREEZING WEATHER. The first of September it is safe to commence throwing the earth up to the rows of celery with a view to blanch it. Consequently all that you have at this* date (which the boards will not have time to blanch and still be ready for use in the store- house construction by the first of October) which you do not want to save for winter use and put into the storehouse, needs now to be banked grad- ually along during the next twenty days. The Planet Junior Cultivator is the first tool to use. Set the two side shovels or wings at an angle to throw the earth towards the rows ; have on the large rear tooth in the center ; go through between all the rows to be banked, once in a place, then turn back and go once in a row in the opposite direction, bearing down hard. This work shoves the earth up to the plants, and under the leaves. Now be it understood, there is no tool upon the market that will do the banking as well as a home- made shovel 2)low shown in plate (see cut 'No. 12). Although the Planet Junior folks make what they call a celery banker, it is not much, if any, better than the cultivator, unless they have improved it since last year, of which I am not advised. That being the case I was forced to make one. 120 CELEKY GROWING. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SHOVEL BANKING PLOW IND ITS USE. {See Cut ) First getting the largest shovel plow I could Und in the market, I had holes drilled through the toj), then took No. 1 sheet iron, had a blacksmith cut a strip six inches wide, and give it at the ends the same slope the shovel has, and put three holes through to mate those in the shovel, and bolted on. You can see the whole construction by look- ing at the cut. When that was done it was not high enough yet ; the earth would roll over the top, so I had another six-inch strip bolted on. It is now first-rate. The plow shows a flat front, but it is not so. It is nicely rounding so the earth rolls from it, and is crowded towards the rows and left just where you want it. This plow follows up the cultivator after the second time through, the rear tooth having loosened up the center of the row. Now the shovel plow will roll that earth up towards the rows. But as it is early, and no danger of freezing weather, and it may be hot and wet enough to rot or rust the stalks in case the earth is thrown too solidly against them, hence the plow should be handled by a strong careful man, and the earth gotten just as close to the stalks as it can be and not rest against them, the lower BANKING PI^OW. {Cut No. 12 ) CONSTRUCTION OF THE BANKING PI,OW. 123 leaves being so thick that they will help very materially to keep the earth from the stalks. By treating it thus, in four weeks, with usual September weather, it will be prime. If your cel- ery IS large, you may need to go in the row twice. If so after once through with the shovel plow, go once in a row with a two-toothed corn cultivator, such as is in common use. That loosens up the bot- tom of the row for the shovel plow again. This shovel plow also brushes back the leaves with the wings. In case the ujDper addition is not needed, take it off. You can also shape the curve of it just as it needs to be act right upon the soil. It takes a few days longer for it to blanch than it would if the earth were rolled against it, which it will not do to have done earlier than the twentieth of September. Again, the celery will be cleaner, consequently not so much work to wash it. Have the frame of the plow made just the height that it will be easy to j^ut your weight upon it, and it will require it frequently. A plow like this is just the thing to hill potatoes with, when grown uj^on these peat lands, as it leaves a chance for them to breathe through at the sides, and drains them a little in case of too much wet. I had nearly forgotten to say that there are only two kinds of celery that will blanch with the earth 124 CEI^ERY GROWING. as here advised. Those are White Plume and Golden Self-Blanching. All other kinds must be banked tight but not so early within a few days. THE TIME FOR BANKING WINTER OR STORE CELERY. All of the celery that is to go into the store- houses for winter market must be banked a little at least, in order that the stalks may be pressed together and so form a close, symmetrical head ; partly for the sake of appearance, more so it can be handled without being badly broken to pieces while being harvested. It would be all sprawled out if not banked, and the stalks badly broken by handling. Some get broken even at the best. Now this storehouse celery should be banked between the twenty-fourth of September and the first of October. Go through twice with the culti- vator and once with the shovel jdIow. That will be enough at first, in case the ground is mellow so YOU can throw the earth a2:ainst the stalks twelve inches high. If not loosen up the bottom and go through with the shovel again. North of latitude 42° do the work a little earlier, and south some days later (according to the dis- tance) than dates given here. The routine of work ^ and the principle connected with it are just the same both north and south, but the seasons are shorter north, consequently the celery could jiot be time; for banking winter or store ceI/Ery. 125 put out SO early in the spring, and would need to be all secured earlier in the fall. Each one must decide for themselves according to the latitude in which they live. In south latitude it is all earlier the farther we go. When we reach the Gulf States, the plants do not want to be set until the last of October and through JN^ovember in order to get the growth in our winter; then we can commence harvesting the middle of January, and carry it into April. There is no need of storing there, as it is a very rare occurrence that frost would hurt it. Twelve inches is high enough to bank, unless it is to protect it from freezing, which must be thought of, as sometimes it gets quite cold by the middle of October. By having the ground loosened between rows, when cold is threatened the only safe way is to go through with the shovel plow and raise the earth right up on to the celery as high as you can, so the frost cannot work down the stalks. Celery that goes in store, that you expect to keep until New Year's, need not be blanched more than ten days ; for if allowed to get much ripe, it will not keep long. The White Plume and the Yellow is not to be depended upon after New Year's, as it does not stand the storehouse confinement as well as the green sorts. All kinds will blanch in storehouse if kept long enough, even if put in green, providing the roots stand upon a damp bottom so 126 CEI.BKV GROWING. that new rootlets will start. Evolution must take place in order to get a nioe bleach. The ends of all the rows must be banked with a hoe or shovel, as it cannot be done complete with the plow. AN ATTACHMENT FOR A ONE-HORSE PLOW TO CUT OFF THE ROOTS, AND HOW TO USE IT. iSee Cut ^0. 13.) So far the roots have been cut with the spade when harvesting, from the fact that it does not do to cut much ahead of its being cared for during warm weather, as it wilts so readily. But now with the approach of cool and cloudy weather, this advance will be in order. There is no plow with this attachment in the market, although I will try and have one put in by the Planet Junior people. Therefore j)roceed as follows : Take a common light one-horse plow, and drill two holes m the land side, at the rear end, one inch from the bottom. Have the holes about three-eighths inch in size, for two bolts with easy working burs. These bolts are to hold the knife in position as you see in cut. Now have two knives made of the best steel, and have the blade curve to the left of the land side about forty-five degrees from a straight line with its shank and mold-board, when bolted together. The blade is to be about twelve inches long by one and a half wide, and a A I'J.OW FOR CUTTING KOOTS. 129 little heavy at the shank, jifst in the angle so as not to break, and the blade as it leaves the shank set snug to rear of the mold-board, so no clogging can take ])lace at that point. The blade can be thin, scant one-eighth inch. The slant that it has back- ward will allow it to clear itself from anv obstruc- tion that it may come in contact with when in motion, by sliding around it. Made as advised, it will cut eight inches to left of mold-board and at just the depth you hold it under ground, when in motion. The beam needs to be turned so that it will run to land its full capacity, in order to make it hug to the row (use a short whiffletree, and let the off trace come between the hind legs of the horse), as the slant of the knife when cutting the roots gives it a tendency to work away from the row, just the same as it would slide to the right when working past a solid snag. Hold the plow firmly, and keep knife sharp with a flat file, and you will be pleased with its work. It is very handy to have two plows, as the bank must be thrown away from the row with the plow by going through once upon each side first, with- out the knife on. Make the horse walk close to the row. But in case you have only one plow it is just as well, only it gives some extra work, simply in the matter of putting knife on and taking off. By using this cutter you will not need by one-fifth loO CKIi/:B