SECRETARY'S REPORT. 189 



for with the exception of the English flat turnip, most kinds are not 

 raised without considerable care and expense. 



Carrots are grown to considerable extent. They require a deep, 

 rich soil, and in favorable situations yield as high as one thousand 

 bushels per acre, although about six hundred is a more common 

 yield. The objections to the carrot are, that it needs more labor 

 than other roots, is somewhat liable to rust, and growing so slow 

 in spring and summer, the ground is apt to become full of weeds 

 before the carrots are large enough to have the weeds removed 

 without greatly disturbing them. The cultivation is mostly done 

 by hand, and with a common hand-hoe ; but the same could be 

 done quicker and cheaper by a wheel-hoe, thus diminishing the cost 

 of production. Some farmers have practiced sowing a few seeds 

 of buckwheat or radish in the row with carrots, and these starting 

 first, allow the ground to be cleansed of weeds, if necessary, before 

 the carrots fairly make their appearance ; and they are pulled out 

 at the second weeding. I have noticed that carrots are often left 

 too thick ; they should be at least four inches apart in the rows. 

 Of the varieties cultivated, the long orange and the intermediate 

 are considered best, while the white Belgian is rather more easily 

 harvested, from its habit of growing partially out of the ground, 

 and is grown in some parts of the county. As to the value of 

 carrots for food, there is but little to be said ; all kinds of stock, 

 without an exception, are fond of them. Horses thrive well upon 

 them, hogs will not only grow, but fatten, if fed with them, and 

 cows will yield the richest milk, in winter, if fed upon carrots in 

 connection with hay. 



Owing to its more easy cultivation, the ruta-baga is raised 

 somewhat largely. It is generally sowed in drills, upon sward 

 land, highly manured, hoed three or four times during the season, 

 and thinned to one foot apart between each turnip, the drills being 

 three feet apart. A slight sprinkling of plaster is administered to 

 the plant as soon as it is out of the ground. The seed is sown 

 about the 20th of June. The ruta-baga will keep better than the 

 English flat, and they are retained by systematic farmers for feed 

 ing in the last part of winter and early part of spring. The cost 

 of production is variously estimated, but by none does it exceed in 

 labor and manure over five cents per bushel. 



In many respects the English flat turnip is the most economical 

 of all the root crops raised. The seed being sown about the last 

 of July, and often as late as the middle of August, from which 



