d
straw.

In the more southern states, celery is usually grown in beds. The beds
are generally made six feet wide, and rows a foot apart are run
crosswise. The plants are set six inches apart, in September, and the
whole bed is earthed up as the season advances. Finally, when winter
comes the beds are covered with leaves or straw to prevent the plants
from freezing. The celery is dug and bunched for market at any time
during the winter.

By means of cold-frames a profitable crop of spring celery may be
raised. Have the plants ready to go into the cold-frames late in October
or early in November. The soil in the frame should be made very deep.
The plants should make only a moderately rapid growth during the winter.
In the early spring they will grow rapidly and so crowd one another as
to blanch well. As celery grown in this way comes on the market at a
time when no other celery can be had, it commands a good price.

In climates as warm as that of Florida, beds of celery can be raised in
this way without the protection of cold-frames. A slight freeze does not
hurt celery, but a long-continued freezing spell will destroy it.

Some kinds of celery seem to turn white naturally. These are called
self-blanching kinds. Other kinds need to be banked with earth in order
to make the stalks whiten. This kind usually gives the best and crispest
stalks.

=Cucumbers and Cantaloupes.= Although cucumbers and cantaloupes are very
different plants, they are grown in precisely the same way. Some
gardeners plant them in hills. However, this is perhaps not the best
plan. It is better to lay the land off in furrows six feet apart. After
filling these with well-rotted stable manure, throw soil over them. Then
make the top flat and plant the seeds. After the plants are up thin them
out, leaving them a foot or more apart in the rows. Cultivate regularly
and carefully until the vines cover the entire ground.

It is a good plan to sow cowpeas at the last working of cantaloupes, in
order to furnish some shade for the melons. As both cucumbers and
cantaloupes are easily hurt by cold, they should not be planted until
the soil is warm and all danger of frost is past.

Cucumbers are always cut while they are green. They should never be
pulled from the vine, but should always be cut with a piece of the stem
attached. Cantaloupes should be gathered before they turn yellow and
should be ripened in the house.

[Illustration: FIG. 92. STRIPED CUCU