of success achieved is generally in proportion to the amount of
attention devoted to minor details. Select the most robust plants and
treat them generously. As soon as the heads are formed, examine them
frequently to prevent disfiguration by vermin. The best period of the
day for cutting has already been discussed. Do not allow the heads to
stand a day longer than is necessary, and if not wanted immediately the
plants should be lifted and preserved in the manner described in the
preceding paragraph.


==CELERY==

==Apium graveolens==

Celery is everywhere esteemed, not only as a salad, but as a wholesome
and delicious vegetable. The crop requires the very best of cultivation,
and care should be taken not to push the growth too far, for the
gigantic Celery occasionally seen at Shows has, generally speaking, the
quality of size only, being tough and tasteless. Nevertheless, the sorts
that are held in high favour by growers of prize Celery are good in
themselves when grown to a moderate size; it is the forcing system alone
that deprives them of flavour. Yet another precaution may be needful to
prevent a mishap. In a hot summer, Celery will sometimes 'bolt' or run
up to flower, in which case it is worthless. This may be the fault of
the cultivator more than of the seed or the weather, for a check in many
cases hastens the flowering of plants, and it is not unusual for Celery
to receive a check through mismanagement. If sown too early, it may be
impossible to plant out when of suitable size, and the consequent arrest
of growth at a most important stage may result in a disposition to
flower the first year, instead of waiting for the second. It should be