94 Commercial Gardening 



them in early in the autumn; they will only burst before there is any 

 demand for them. Plantings should not be made later than July, or 

 they will fail to heart in, and nowadays there never seems to be any 

 demand for Savoy Greens. Savoys require planting 2 ft. by 18 in., so that 

 14,500 can be got off' an acre. The Savoy is one of the most useful crops 

 for cleaning dirty land. Its leaves keep so close to the ground, it spreads 

 so rapidly, covering the surface so completely, that the most hardy lived of 

 nature's indigenous growths are compelled to succumb to the suffocation. 



Savoys are frequently sent to market stacked loose on the van or 

 wagon. This affords an opportunity of discussing a practice which ought 

 perhaps to have been dealt with under the head of "Cabbages". 



Is it possible to contemplate the world around us without coming to 

 the conclusion that a constant process of refinement is going on in the 

 public taste, and in the demands it makes on those who cater for it? 

 In every branch of commerce this tendency has been recognized by efforts 

 to render products more attractive in appearance. Pains and expense have 

 not been grudged to enhance the appeal which they make to cultivated 

 taste. The results of efforts in this direction made by exporters of fruit 

 and vegetables to this country from the continent of Europe and elsewhere 

 lie deeply marked on the trade of our markets. Is it to be expected that 

 the home market gardener alone will profit by ignoring this tendency, which 

 every other class of producers recognizes? Will it pay him to persist in 

 a practice which is contrary to hygienic laws, is repulsive to refined taste, 

 and ensures that his produce shall reach the consumer much in the state 

 in which a vessel, battered by wintry storms, drifts, a wreck, into port? 

 Already premonitory growls have appeared in the public press, and wisdom 

 surely lies in the direction of voluntary reform, w r hich the widespread 

 adoption of cheap boxes in place of baskets has made comparatively easy. 



[w. G. L.] 



10. CARROTS 



The Carrot has been developed from the wild British Daucus Carota, 

 a hardy biennial of the Umbellifer family. As a farm and market-garden 

 crop it is highly valued for its taproots, the coarser and larger roots being 

 used for cattle food, while the shorter and more highly flavoured kinds are 

 preferred for human use. As a farm crop over 11,000 ac. are cultivated 

 in Great Britain, the principal Carrot-growing counties being Cambridge 

 (over 2000 ac.), Lincoln (over 1500 ac.), and Bedford (about 1000 ac.). 



The soil for Carrots should be deeply cultivated, and be of a sandy 

 loam. Rough cloddy soil is quite useless, as the roots like to be closely 

 packed round with a nice rich friable mould into which they can penetrate 

 without much trouble. Manure is best applied in the autumn, especially 

 if only partially decayed, as heavy manuring in spring is apt to develop 

 coarseness and irregularity. On the other hand, the lack of well-decayed 

 manure or humus will be a great drawback, especially during dry hot 



