SUCCULENT ROOTS. 239 



and culture. The kinds which are commonly grown 

 are distinguished into two, the long and the horn-carrot. 

 The first is again subdivided into others which differ 

 in size as well as in colour. The red or large field 

 carrot attains to a considerable growth ; it is chiefly 

 cultivated in fields as food for cattle, and in farmers' 

 gardens as a material for colouring butter. The 

 orange carrot, though not so productive, is generally 

 the main crop in garden culture the flavour of this 

 is more delicate, and therefore it is in higher estimation 

 as a culinary vegetable. There are, likewise, white, 

 yellow, and purple varieties these are not, however, 

 in common cultivation. The horn-carrot has a shorter 

 and smaller root than the long varieties ; it is, there- 

 fore, a good crop for a shallow soil, and in such a 

 situation is preferable to the larger kind ; it has like- 

 wise the advantage of coming to maturity in a shorter 

 period than the long, and is consequently found well 

 adapted for the early and late crops. 



When a carrot is cut transversely it is found to 

 consist of two parts of different colour and texture. 

 These are the bark and the wood ; the bark is of the 

 darkest colour, and of the most pulpy consistence, and 

 it is also the sweetest to the taste ; the heart or wood, 

 especially when the root has attained its full size, is 

 more fibrous or stringy, and, if it be separated, it is 

 bristled over with hard points or fibres that extend to 

 the rootlets outside. Almost the whole crown of the 

 root, or the part which sends up the leaves, is con- 

 nected with the wood, and only the epidermis of the 

 leaves and stem with the external portion of the root. 



The skin or bark is found to be more nutritious 

 than the central part, and consequently the value of the 

 carrot as an esculent will depend on the relative pro- 

 portion of these two parts of the root. The object of 

 the skilful cultivator is, therefore, to obtain the root 

 with the smallest possible proportionate quantity of 



