TEE VEGETABLE GARDEN 273 



CARROT. 



The culture of the carrot is practically the same as the parsnip, 

 except that carrots are not thinned so much and are allowed to grow 

 almost as thickly as planted. Carrots should be dug in the autumn 

 and stored the same as parsnips or turnips. Any surplus can be fed 

 sparingly to horses, mules or cattle. The roots of the carrot are used 

 at all times of the year, mostly in soups, but they may be boiled and 

 served with butter or creamed. Carrots are planted in rows 16 inches 

 apart and the plants thinned out to 4 inches in the row. Chantenay 

 is an excellent table carrot of medium size and dark orange color, 

 slightly tapering and abruptly terminating with a short, fine tap- 

 root. The flesh is orange colored, brittle, juicy and mild flavored. 

 What it lacks in siie it makes up in quality and good shape. Scarlet 

 Intermediate, somewhat larger than Chantenay, is of good size for 

 table use. In shape more tapering and with a longer taproot. It is 

 dark orange colored ; flavor and quality good. Flesh is quite brittle 

 and orange colored with a white center. To these two are added two 

 varieties principally grown forstock feed, similar varieties being grown 

 for table use in many parts of Europe, and more especially those of 

 the White Belgian variety. Both varieties are of slender shape, l 1 /^ 

 to 2 inches in diameter, holding their size well, although averaging 12 

 inches in length, 3 to 4 inches of which grows above ground and 

 which as a consequence is colored light green on the outside. White 

 Belgian is the sweeter of the two, and while the flesh is somewhat 

 coarse, the flavor of it, when well stewed and mashed, is sweeter and 

 not unlike that of the parsnip. Victoria, the other variety, is of the 

 same texture, fairly sweet and with a more pronounced carrot flavor, 

 the flesh instead of white, being light orange colored. This vegetable 

 can be grown to perfection in Porto Rico almost any time of the year. 

 It prefers a rich loam and grows very well on a heavy clay which is 

 not to*wet, but a light sandy soil is not well adapted to it. For fer- 

 tilizer, stable manure will do when nothing else is available, but a 

 commercial fertilizer, rich in potash and phosphoric acid, is much to 

 be preferred for this crop. F. B. 255, 295; Mich. E. S. 20; N. C. 

 E. S. 132 ; U. Idaho E. S. 10 ; P. R. A. E. S. 7.) 



CAULIFLOWER. 



This plant requires a very rich, moist soil. Land that will pro- 

 duce only a fair crop of cabbage is unfit for cauliflower. If the land 

 is very rich and well fertilized it may be reasonably expected that the 

 returns from the crop of cauliflower will more than repay the cost of 

 putting the land in good condition. 



Seed. No more important element enters into the success of the 

 cauliflower crop than the quality of the seed and to the seed alone is 

 often due the difference between success and failure, profit and loss. 

 The best seed that can be secured is the cheapest at any reasonable 

 price, and it should always be obtained from a well-known, reputable 

 seedsman. 



Seed-bed. This should be carefully prepared. The soil should 

 be enriched with a liberal application of commercial fertilizer, or 

 thoroughly decomposed stable manure. After the fertilizer is applied 



