VEGETABLES CARROT. ] 27 



tide of manure, and three years after, the same land which 

 had been brought up to our market garden standard 

 of fertility, a very inferior crop ; the land being too 

 rich, induced a growth of tops rather than roots. In our 

 market gardens, we sow in rows 14 inches apart, thinning 

 out to 3 or 4 inches between the plants ; but on farm lands, 

 where space is not so valuable, they should be planted 18 

 or 24 inches between the rows, and worked with the culti- 

 vator. For early crops, Ave sow at the beginning of our first 

 operations in spring, in the same manner as we sow Beets, 

 as soon as the ground is thoroughly dry ; but for later 

 crops, they may be sown any time, in this latitude, until 

 the middle of June. This is one of the vegetables that re- 

 quire a close watching, to see that it does not get envelop- 

 ed with weeds, as in its early stage it is of comparatively 

 feeble growth, and unless it is kept clean from the start, 

 it is apt to get irrevocably injured. 



The usually prescribed quantity of seed per acre is 5 lbs., 

 but I have always considered it safer to sow nearly double 

 that quantity. In dry weather it germinates feebly, and 

 not unfrequently, when seed comes up thinly, it is scorched 

 off by the hot sun, and the saving of a few pounds of 

 seed may entail the loss of half the crop. We prefer to 

 sow all such crops by hand. 



The Carrot, like all other root crops, delights in a sandy 

 loam, deeply tilled. Considerable quantities of the early 

 varieties are sold, in our markets, in bunches, in a hall- 

 grown state, at prices equal to early Beets sold in the same 

 manner. Sold in this state, they are highly profitable at 

 the prices received, but only limited quantities can be dis- 

 posed of. In the dry state, during fall and winter, they 

 » 



