seed potatoes chosen were fair, smooth specimens of good size. These
he cut so that only one eye was left to a piece of potato the size of a
hen's egg. These pieces were dropped into the furrows at distances of
fifteen inches apart and four inches deep. After covering, the man went
over the potato patch with a harrow. A boy might use a rake for this
work, but as Peter's patch was a small part of his grandfather's field
the harrowing of the whole was done by the man.

When the little potato plants were well up Peter sprayed them with Paris
green. This was wise because he thus got ahead of the potato bug. Some
one may like to know how to mix up Paris green. The proportion used was
one tablespoonful to a pail of water. This was put on with a watering
pot every two weeks, thus Peter kept his potatoes quite free from bugs.

Although the rest of the potato patch was cultivated by the horse, Peter
used the hoe. He could not plough, for Peter was a rather small boy for
his age and not very muscular. The secret of potato culture is to
cultivate well and keep the bugs down.

He dug his potatoes about the middle of June. From the one quarter acre
his grandfather had lent him for his garden Peter dug seven bushels of
potatoes. At the time new potatoes were selling for $1.25 per bushel.
His father bought three bushels and the other four were sold in the city
to Philip's mother and friends.

The constant working of the soil for potato culture gets it into a fine
mellow condition exactly right for celery. Peter's grandfather suggested
that the boy put this in, and so have another crop, a fall one.

Although this soil had been well fertilized in the spring for the
potatoes this was yet not sufficient for celery culture. Celery ought to
be started either indoors in flats, or in a hothouse or seed bed late in
February--transplanted to other flats, and again finally to the open
ground.

To prepare for the celery trenches were dug three feet apart and one
foot wide. The earth thrown out in trench digging was piled between the
ditches to be used later in banking up the celery. These trenches were
six inches deep. In the bottom of the trench was put some enriched
manure. This was of different materials. Peter used well-rotted barnyard
dressing, a little hen manure, and about the same quantity of chemical
fertilizer. Hen manure is rich, so he did not use the bulk of that. Over
this was put an inch of soil.

Celery plants should be set