Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-01-13
CULTURE OF CELERY.

CULTURE OF CELERY.
KALAMAZOO RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF
ITS CHIEF cENTERS.
What Hol1aniers Have Accomplished In
the Vicinity Of This Michigan Town-vs-
rying Claims a. to the Profits Of Celery
Growing.
Kalamazoo celery Is 80 well known In
every part of this country that the name
isused for all the better kinds Of eel
cry, and, like Blue Point oysters and
Little Neck CLAIMS, the guarantee con-
:ained in tho name sells the article to
the exclusion of other brands. The ex-
cellenre os this celery is said 70 ee 6re
to three tnings-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 O celery re-
gion.
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 arc about three miles long
and q mile wide. These bottom lands
are not common farming lands, but are
composed Of 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 i'll the industry, REQ
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 1t was injured by
competition.
In recent years the output has been
SO enormous that prices have dropped
from 90 cents to 10 cents per dozen,
and many growers have been complain
ing. Tho seasons of 1923 were COM
par6tively 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
ly all Hollarders. and they live In
dwellings ON their small holdings,
which generally consist Of from five to
ten acres. They are 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
p-ettiest 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 1 to Jan. l..
/ This would mean about $500, 900 doz-
ems. and at 0 cents per dozen thiswould
amount to S560.OO0. AS this is very
! low estimate, one is almost safe in say
ing that the industry nets the town ut
least f5O0,O 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, 81 inches long, 16
, inches wide and @ to inches deep.
Fertilizers are now used freely upon
the already rich Lotion lands, and ev-
/ cry time grower takes q load of celery
into the town he brings back load of
/ fertilizer. 1t is claimed that four crops
! of colery are raised in one season ON the
land, but this is rot literally true. The
| farmers mako four paintings. which
mature from July to December, but
! these can hardly be called four crops.
The first planting is made early, and as
this celery must be bleached with
boards it is nn inferior grade. The old
saying is that celery is not fit to eat
until after the first frost, and in q 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 il north early in
summer. and since people will buy this
vegetable out of season the Kalamazoo
growers begin to send their product to
I the cities much earlier than five years
| ago.
| The question of profit in celery grow
ing is q 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 arc doing well. At Greentown,
o.. where the largest celery farm under
/ the control of one man is located, the
/ profits are snid to average between s2C0
and S+06 per acre. There are nearly loo
acres planted with celery on that farm.
! and if these figures are correct the own
! CT has every reason to believe that farm
ing does pay. Like the Kalamazoo Gel
cry lands, the soil at Greentown. O., ID
exceedingly rich and we'll adapted .u
the culture Of the celery plant. But
! even so, cheap labor must be employed
| to make the farm pay anything like
| $500 or $500 per acre. Here in Kalams-
zoo the ;:-uwers believe that 500 and
$500 PEI acra is a good profit, and q
man with ten acres CT soil need not
suffer greatly with such an income Si1
years ago the same land could have
| made profits of $500 per acre, but thcI
the growers were receiving just twice
lis much for their celery as they are to-
! day. Cor. New York Post.
Pressure at the Earti,'s Center.
The philosophers who have figured on
the condition of things at the earth
center give Opinions which vary widely.