Cli. XXIII.] ON CARROTS. 285 



The Seed of the carrot is extremely liglit, and clings so close together 

 with forked hairs which connect it, that it cannot be separated without 

 great difiiculty, for which reason it is generally mixed with sand previous 

 to its being sown ; it is indeed so extremely difficult to separate them, as 

 to form a great objection to their being sown in drills; for the plants come 

 up in tufts with blank spaces, and the seed is therefore generally sown 

 broad-cast, and afterwards hoed out. They are also so very slow in 

 S})routing, that tlie weeds usually make their appearance first, and their 

 foliage is so slender that it is difficult to hoe out the weeds without injuring 

 them. It is therefore a good plan to have the seed and sand well mixed 

 together, and laid in heaps in a warm place — though screened from the 

 rays of the sun, — which should be wetted with drainings from the stable, 

 and turned over daily. This, if done ten days or a fortnight before the 

 sowing, will occasion the seed to germinate, and the plants will be thus so 

 forward as to be easily distinguished when the land requires hoeing. It is 

 also a good precaution to cover these heaps with a little cinders in order to 

 prevent the upper ])art from becoming dry. 



Tiie quantity of seed dejiends in a great measure upon its goodness, for 

 there is no complaint more general among farmers tlian that of its quality; 

 we shall therefore state, at the end of this chapter, the manner in which that 

 and parsnip seed is raised. If it can be depended upon, four lbs. per 

 acre are thought to be sufficient ; but if there is any reason to doubt its 

 l)eing perfectly sound, one-half more, or at least tive lbs. per acre are sown. 

 Some persons, indeed, use double that quantity ; and if the land be very 

 dry, rather more seed is necessary than when moist : it should not be 

 sown deep, nor should it be more than very lightly harrowed. 



The tune of solving is determined partly by the weatlier, and partly by 

 tlie desire to liave the crops coming forward at different seasons. If they 

 can be got in well, the sooner they are sown the more productive will they 

 be, and the better the quality of the root. From the middle of February 

 to the end of March is considered the best season in our southern counties, 

 though in the north it is not unfrequently deferred until the middle or even 

 the latter end of April *. 



The culture, when following corn, is generally by three ploughings : the 

 first in September or October — at which time, if manure be applied, it should 

 be laid upon the land — and the second in Kovember ; or the second in the 

 beginning of February, and the third at seed-time. It is, howevei-, by no 

 means unusual, on lands of this light nature, to sow them after turnips ; and 

 a succession of turnips, potatoes, and carrots has been found very beneficial 

 to the farmer's interest, as well as to the ground, when the crops have been 

 either entirely eaten ofl", or replaced by a proportionate quantity of manure f. 

 AVhen succeeding turnips the ground is usually once trench-ploughed as 

 soon as the land is clear, then harrowed fine, and the seed immediately 

 sown ; but if after potatoes, the land is then laid up in the same manner as 

 after corn, and the crop being a robbing one, the ground should receive a 

 moderate portion of spit-dung or compost ; a dressing of ashes might per- 

 liaps, however, be substituted with good effect, if the land be not already 

 too light, though market- gardeners say it injures the quality of the potato. 

 In whatever manner the tillage may be varied, either to suit the previous 

 crop, the nature of the soil, or the particular views of the farmer, the great 

 object should never be disregarded — of having the soil completely pulverized, 

 and ploughed to the depth of twenty inclies or two feet. 



* Stevenson's Rep. of Survey, p. 283; Essex Survejf, vol. u.y. 2; Suffolk ditto, old 

 edit. t Jiath Papers, vol. i. p. 233. 



