Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1896-11-17

CULTURE OF CE 81. I i lI1',''ll'
KALAMAZOO REC oGNIzED As oNEzoVFS.
ITS CHIEF cENTERs.
WIat Ho1landers Have sAccomp1ished IN
the Vicinity Of This Michigan Toun-Va-s.
rying Claims Is to tho Profits Of Celery
i Growing.
Kalamazoo celery is SO well known in.
every part Of this country that the name
is used for all. the better kinds OF cell
cry, and, like Blue Point oysters and
Little Neck CLAIMS, the guarantee con-
tanned in the name sells the article to-
the exclusion Of other brands. The ex-
cellence of this celery is said to- be due
TO three things good seed, dark, heavy
soil and care in growing and bleaching
it. Careful packing might be added.
But as any gardener can select good
seed and give the plants good culture
Kalamazoo must excel in the soil or
better natural conditions as celery re-
gion. - =. - (
20 The celery meadows are just outside
of the town Of Kalamazoo, north and
south Of the city, and surrounded by
hills, divided crosswise by high ridge,
on which the houses are built. The
meadows are about three miles long
and mile wide. These bottom lands
are not common farming lands, but are
composed Of a peculiar form Of black
muck, the result of vegetable decompo-
sition, and formerly they were SO rich
!. that no fertilizers We're needed. Not
more than dozen years ago very little
celery was raised on these meadows
and none for shipment to other mar
kets. Joseph Dunkly, the florist, was
one of the pioneers in the industry, rec
ognizing the peculiar value Of the
muck soil for celery. He owned one Of
the earliest celery farms, and it is re-
ported that he amassed fortune from
the business before it was injured by
competition.
In recent years the output has been
SO enormous that prices have dropped
from 30 cents to- 10 cents per dozen,
and many growers have been complain
ing. The seasons of 1923 were COM
paratively poor ones, and a number Of
the growers left their farms to engage
in the same business in the suburbs of
New York, but they soon returned to
their home town. The growers are near
~ all Hollanders, and they live in
dwellings on their small holdings,
which generally consist of from five to
ten acres. They are a frugal, industrious
race, and they adopt the most advanced
system Of intensive farming. Five acres
here easily support an ordinary Holland
family, and there is no doubt but the
head of it saves money.
The city Of Kalamazoo is one Of the
prettiest in the country, and it owes
not little of this to the industry of
the celery growers. The amount of GEL
cry shipped from the city varies from
year to year. but a conservative esti-
mate places the average quantity at 60
tons per day from July to Jan. 1.
This would mean about $780, 900 doz-
I ems, and at 10 cents per dozen this would
amount to 100000. AS this is a very
low estimate, one is almost safe in say
ing that the industry nets the town at
least $500, 900 year.
The punches of celery are packed in
wooden boxes and shipped to commits
sion men. The boxes are made in the
town, giving employment to a number
of mechanics. They are about the size
of a peach crate, "a inches long, 16
inches wide and 6 to inches Deep
Fertilizers are now used freely upon
the already rich bottom lands, and ev.
cry time grower takes load of celery
into the town he brings back load of
fertilizer. It is claimed that four crops
of celery are raised in one season on the
land, but this is not literally true. The
farmers make four paintings, which
mature from July to December, but
these can hardly be called four crops.
The first planting is made early, aud as'
this celery must be bleached with
boards it is an inferior grade. The old
saying is that celery is not fit to eat
until after the first frost, and in sense
this is true. but modern conditions of
our markets demand that celery shall be
ready for use all the year round. The
southern growers send it north early in
summer, and since people will buy this
vegetable out of season the Kalamazoo
growers begin to send their product to
the cities much earlier than five years
ago. -.
The question Of profit in celery grow
? ing is a disputed one, and, like straw
: berry farming, there are stories current
= Of farmers making $500 per acre, while
others claim that if they make $50 per
acre they are doing we'll. AtGreentown,
o., where the largest celery farm under
the control Of one man is located, the
profits are said to average between 5000
and $500 per acre. There are nearly 100
acres planted with celery on that farm,
p and il these figures are correct the own
:, er has every reason to believe that farm
ing does pay. Like the Kalamazoo cell
cry lands. the soil at Greentown, o. is
! exceedingly rich and we'll adapted to
the culture Of the celery plant. But
even so, cheap labor must be EMPLOYED
to make the farm pay anything like
$500 or $400 per acre Here in Kalama-
zoo the growers believe that 500 and