100. AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



prepare an acre of ground that had boon planted the year previous, and had 

 been well manured by ploughing in a good f^u])ply of fine manure about sis 

 inches deep, harrow and make it in a line condition to receive the seed ; then 

 sow to thcVarious kinds of roots ; divide; it off into sections — say one-eighth 

 of an acre to carrots, one-eighth to sugar beets, one-eighth to ruta-baga, and 

 one-eighth to turnips — one-half to mangolds, some of the long red and some 

 of the yellow globe, and to cabbages ; and if he will take good care of them, 

 I venture to say he will have the most profitable crop from this piece of any 

 upon his farm. 



CAHROTS. 



It will be useless for me to repeat what has so often been said, that the car- 

 rot is a most valuable vegetable to raise for the horse and cow. It has been 

 cultivated for centuries, and always regarded as a most important root crop ; 

 but the question to decide is, whether it is a sufficiently profitable crop for the 

 farmer to give much time and attention to its culture in the United States, 

 where labor is high and scarce, particularly that kind of labor (children's) that 

 is needed and best adapted to weeding and thinning out the plants. 



My experience has not been in favor of carrots over other roots ; the com- 

 parative value for milk-making is not equal to mangolds or the sugar beet ; 

 their weight per bushel is less at the time of harvesting than that of mangolds ; 

 their shrinkage during the winter is greater, and they do -not keep as long into 

 warm weather as the mangolds. I have kept the mangolds till the 10th of 

 August, feeding to my cows and hogs, they remaining sound and brittle as at 

 any time during the winter. 



The carrot is a slow grower ; the seed should be sown as early as the ground 

 will permit, about two pounds to the acre. If not put in early, the weeds and 

 grass will start first and grow faster; consequently the very small carrot plants 

 will be overpowered by them, and, unless immediate attention is given, it will 

 cost more to weed them than they can possibly be worth. If the planting of 

 the carrot- is deferred till corn-planting is over, when the soil is warm, the 

 weeds and grass will cover the ground long before a carrot plant will be seen. 

 If I were to make an effort to see how great a crop I could raise at the least 

 expense, I should prepare a piece of sward land by spreading liberally of 

 manure in the fall, (late ; ) plough it eight or nine inches deep ; then spread 

 on ashes or guano, or some fertilizing substance of that nature, (that will 

 not groAv weeds all over the piece,) immediately before sowing the seed, and 

 harrow it well, raking and making it as free from lumps as possible. It is cus- 

 tomary for farmers to sow but a small piece of land to carrots, and they must 

 be sowed when they can find time after more important planting is done upon 

 the farm. This is a great mistake. To insure success in growing a good and 

 profitable crop more time and care are necessary than for any other hoed crop. 

 In summing up my experience in the matter, I should never recommend the 

 cultivation of them on old land made rich with manure, (particularly in New 

 England,) except upon a small scale for a farmer's own use for his horses and 

 colts. My experience in feeding carrots to cows as well as to colts and young 

 cattle is in feediug a peck each day to the animals ; they never eat any less 

 hay; their appetites are sharper, more regular, and the cattle look and feel a 

 great deal better ; their hair is more glossy and sleek. I can say the same of 

 other roots as to the effect upon their appetite. 



In the spring of 18G2 I spread upon the grass of one-eighth of an acre ten 

 horse-cart loads of manure, and ploughed it in full eight inches deep. After 

 ploughing, spread a light dressing of compost manure, and gave it a thorough 

 • harrowing ; raked it, sowed the seed, and had them well attended to ; they 

 came up well, and I harvested 63 bushels of carrots, 30 bushels sweet tur- 

 nips, that were set out where the carrots had failed, about 20 heads of cab- 



