146 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [CHAP. VI. 



bed, or if the soil be not thoroughly pulverised, 

 the roots will become forked, fibrous, and 

 worm-eaten. The seeds of the carrot, bein^- 

 each furnished with a pappus, or feathery wiii£, 

 are apt to become entangled with each otlw, 

 and can only be separated by rubbing them 

 between the hands, and mixing them with sand. 

 They are then to be sown very thinly, and the 

 ground, after being slightly raked over, to cover 

 them, is beaten flat with the back of the spade. 

 When the young plants come up, the ground 

 should be occasionally loosened, from time to 

 time, with a small hoe, round each. When the 

 leaves begin to change colour, the roots should 

 be taken up, dry weather being chosen for that 

 purpose ; and, the tops being cut off, the carrots 

 should be carried into a cellar, or out-house, 

 and there buried in sand. Early carrots are 

 generally sown in February, and the principal 

 crop about the middle of March. 



The Parsnep requires the same culture as the 

 carrot, except that there is no early crop. The 

 seed is sown in February or March, and the 

 roots are ready for use about the latter end of 

 September or the beginning of October; being 

 easily kept through the winter, like the carrot, 

 in sand. 



Tlie Red Beet is a native of the sea-coast on 

 the South of Europe, and was introduced in 

 1656. The seed should not be sown till the 

 last week in March, or the beginning of April. 

 The ground should previously be dug to the 

 depth of a foot or eighteen inches, and mixed 

 with a little sea or river sand, and vegetable 

 mould, or rotten dung. The roots will be ready 



