208 



STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



is derived from the fact that it is found abundantly 

 growing in wheat fields. Sown in Au- 

 gust, and protected by leaves or straw during 

 the winter,, it can be used in the spring very 

 early. Sown in April or May, it is very soon fit 

 for use. The leaves are sometimes boiled and 

 served as spinach. It is very hardy. Sow as 

 for lettuce, in rows, covering seed only about a 

 quarter of an inch. Thin out the plants so 

 that they will be three or four inches apart. 



CARROTS. 



The Carrot should always be furnished with a good, deep, rich soil, and as 

 free from stones and lumps as possible ; and if a rather light loam, it is better 

 than if compact and heavy, it is waste of time and labor to try to grow roots 

 of any kind on a poor or unprepared soil. Seed should be got in early, so as 

 to have the benefit of a portion of the spring rains. We knew a part of a field 

 to be sown, when a long rain interrupting the operator, it was not resumed until 

 after the soil had become pretty dry, and no showers coming very soon, the first 

 half sown produced an abundant crop, while the last was almost a failure. Sow 

 in drills about an inch deep, the drills about afoot apart; and at thinning, the 



plants should be left at from four to ten inches apart in the rows, according to 

 kind. The Short Horn may be allowed to grow very thickly, almost in clus- 

 ters. To keep roots for table use, place them in sand in the cellar; but for 

 feeding, they will keep well in a cellar, without covering, or buried in the 

 ground, and any desired for spring use may be pitted out of the way of frost. 

 An ounce of seed will sow about one hundred feet of drill, and two pounds is 

 the usual quantity per acre. For field culture, of course, the rows must be 

 sufficiently distant to admit of running the cultivator between them. The 

 carrot is mostly used in America for soups, and for this the smaller and finer 

 varieties are grown. The carrot is very nutritious and is relished by all ani- 

 mals. The engraving shows the comparative size and habit of growth of most 

 of the leading varieties. Figure 1, Long Orange; 2, Orange Belgian Green- 

 Top; 3, Early French Short-Horn; 4, White Belgian Green-Top; 5, Eaiiy 



