198 WORCESTER SOCIETY. 



The common carrot is cultivated in Britain, where it was 

 introduced from Flanders in the reign of dueen Elizabeth. 

 Another writer says — " The common species concentrates in 

 itself all the true interest of the genus, and in its original form 

 is a mere weed of Britain ; but its varieties comprise all the 

 kinds of cultivated carrots of the garden, and the field of Brit- 

 ain and the continent." 



" The wild carrot, from which all those now commonly cul- 

 tivated varieties came, is a native of England, found chiefly on 

 chalky hills." My object in thus dwelling upon the importance 

 of our different root seeds has been, to obtain information upon 

 the subject, which we very much need. The root crop will to 

 a great extent succeed in our own couutry. Ten years ago, 

 such a thing as an acre of carrots for any one individual to 

 grow, would have been considered preposterous. When our 

 society first offered a premium for one quarter of an acre of 

 carrots, in 1841, I think, and the conditions were, that not less 

 than 400 bushels to the acre should take the prize ; some gen- 

 tlemen then present, (practical farmers, too,) said it was of no 

 use to offer our funds for such a purpose, as no one would 

 think of sowing so much land to carrots, and if it should be 

 attempted, it would prove a failure. I entered the required 

 amount of land in carrots, and obtained something more than 

 one hundred bushels, and I presume, for want of competition 

 alone, the first premium was awarded to me, and no one en- 

 tered the field for two or three years as a competitor, either on 

 carrots, beets or turnips. Farmers had not probably forgotten 

 the provoking labor they were compelled, when boys, to per- 

 form on a small bed of roots, in weeding them out in rainy 

 days ; but how is it now ? there is no very serious complaint 

 about cultivating one, two, or three acres of carrots. One of 

 the most practical farmers in Worcester, and one who has one 

 of the best farms in the county, and knows how to keep it, 

 too, was very sceptical on the subject but two years ago, but 

 this year has cultivated four acres, and though he has suffered 

 from the rust, will, I doubt not, get a remunerating crop ,• 

 another farmer has had five acres to carrots this year, and many 

 others that have been entirely sceptical, have raised from one- 



