HARVESTING CARROTS. 1G1 



These three points I would be pleased to have brought clearly 

 and distinctly into the discussion ; and there may be many 

 others here who would like to have those questions answered. 



Mr. Benjamin P. Ware, of Marblchead, having been called 

 upon, said : — 



I have had some experience in the raising of roots, and I will 

 endeavor to relate it. I was very much interested in the gentle- 

 man's (Mr. Huntington's) remarks, with reference to his expe- 

 rience. They agreed, in many respects, entirely with my own ; 

 but I think in some particulars, we, in Marblchead, have been 

 able to make some improvements, particularly in the harvesting 

 of carrots. He said he topped them with a hoc, ploughed a 

 furrow as near as possible to the row of roots, and then loosened 

 the roots with a spade or fork. Our method is to top them, § 

 either with a hoe or shovel, (we generally use a shovel,) and 

 then use a subsoil plough ; and so far as my experience goes, it is 

 the only use to which a subsoil plough can be put to any advan- 

 tage in our county. Previously to ploughing, the tops are 

 raked off the field, so as to be entirely out of the way. We 

 then run the subsoil plough directly by the side of the row of 

 roots, which lifts them out of the ground about two inches ; 

 then with potato diggers, forks or hoes, we go along and rake 

 them out, so as to lift them from the ground, and throw them 

 inward, leaving room for the team to go through again. We 

 first turn a back furrow in the centre of the piece, and go round 

 that back furrow, drawing the carrots into the centre, and leav- 

 ing a space for the horse or ox to travel, without treading upon 

 the carrots. That leaves them spread all over the surface of 

 the ground. We do that in the forenoon ; work until noon 

 ploughing out ; and in the afternoon, we pick them up, throw 

 them into the carts, and put them into the cellar. As the 

 gentleman suggested, that gives about half a day's time for the 

 carrots to dry ; and in picking them from the ground and 

 throwing them into baskets, the dirt is mostly shaken off; so 

 that, if the weather is suitable, — and dry weather ought to be 

 chosen for the harvesting of roots, — they will go into the cellar 

 dry, which, in my opinion, is very important. 



Mr. Huntington. This subsoil plough is used on the left sido 

 of the rows ? 



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