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THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES AS FARM PRODUCTS. 

 BY JOHN W. PROCTOR, DAN VERS, MASS. 



Grass, grain and vegetables are tlie staple products of the farms of 



l^ew England. The culture of vegetables includes all that class of plants 



growing annually, such as beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, &c., which 



are chiefly used for the feeding of stock. Experience in the growth of 



these ihas shown a much more valuable produce than can be obtained 



from grass or grain. Rarely will the gross value of an acre of grass or 



grain exceed the sum of fifty dollars : when the nett proceeds of an acre, 



of vegetables, after deducting all expenses, often amounts to one hundred 



dollars. The growing of vegetables has greatly increased within the 



last thirty years, and is destined to increase further, as their culture 



: and comparative value is better understood. It is not my purpose to go 



.fully into this culture, but simply to notice such facts as have come under 



^my own observation, and such as have a tendency to show the benefits 



to be derived from their culture. 



The carrot is very generally cultivated, though not in large quantities. 

 Rarely do the fields of carrots exceed one acre ; they are generally 

 less. Twenty or more tons are grown to the acre, when the land is pro- 

 perly prepared. After they have been twice hoed and weeded, their tops 

 spread and cover the ground, so that weeds find little opportunity to 

 grow. They are generally sowed in rows, about fourteen inches apart, 

 and thinned out, so as to leave the plants four or five inches apart. "When 

 thus arranged in a good soil, and well prepared, the roots will so expand 

 as to touch each other, and yield nearly three plants to each square foot 

 of land, or thirty tons to the acre. I have known thirty-four or thirty- 

 six tons to the acre to be produced in the county of Essex, Massachusetts. 

 Col. Pickering says: "I am inclined to think a preferable mode would 

 be to sow the seeds in double rows, about ten inches apart, with inter- 

 vals of three feet between the double rows. In this case a deep furrow 

 being opened by the plow, the manure should be regularly thrown into 

 it, and covered by four back furrows, so forming a ridge over the manure ; 

 and the ridge being laid level, by a light harrow or roller, will then be 

 ready to receive the seed." 



The short, chunky, yellow carrot is the kind generally preferred, both 

 for quantity and quality, and because it is more readily harvested. Car- 



