EOOT CULTURE. 299 



ially turnips. For ruta-bagas wo may use fresh manure from 

 the cow stables or sheep sheds. Yarding sheep upon the field 

 for a few nights just before sowing has a wonderful effect on 

 light, sandy land. 



Solving the Seed. — Carrots, mangolds or sugar-beets should 

 be sown as early in the spring as the ground is in working 

 order, and warm enough to insure the speedy germination of 

 the seeds. Though a fair crop is sometimes raised when the 

 sowing is delayed till June, yet I have had the best success 

 when sown early. 



Carrots require two pounds per acre, beets and mangolds 

 four, and rutabagas one pound. 



Carrots should be sown in rows fifteen to twenty-four inches 

 apart and be thinned out to three or four inches for the larger 

 kinds. 



A favorite plan with me is to ridge the land with a one 

 horse plow, furrows three feet apart. Rake the ridges length- 

 wise, so that all obstructions to the drill will fall each way 

 into the furrows, leaving the beds slightly elevated and about 

 twenty inches wide. On these sow two drills about one foot 

 apart. In culture use the horse hoe in broad spaces, and as 

 the beds are slightly raised, the carrots will be less likely to 

 be covered than where the surface is level. 



Carrot seed is naturally covered with hooks which prevent 

 its even delivery by the drill, except they are removed by 

 rubbing carefully with the hands. 



Hoe them out as quick as the rows can be seen ; do not 

 wait for the weeds to get a start, and cultivate and hoe often 

 till the' tops cover the ground. In a favorable season with 

 proper care they will gi'ow right along till there is danger of 

 the ground freezing, when they should be dug. They should be 

 dug earlier if they are blighted or from any cause lose their 

 leaves and cease growth. 



Carrots may be dug with a spade or fork, or they may be 

 so loosened by running a subsoil plow close to the rows, that 

 they can be pulled by hand. 



The White Belgian and the Altringham grow large, and 

 stand with their crowns so far above the surface that they cau 



