VEGETABLES 29 



CARROTS 



Carrots were introduced into England in the 

 reign of Elizabeth, and were so highly esteemed 

 that the ladies wore leaves of it in their headdresses. 



Carrots require deep, light, warm soil, well 

 trenched but not very recently manured. 



The seeds should be sown in dry weather, as if 

 a shower of rain falls just after sowing it is almost 

 fatal. 



Sowing in the open ground should not com- 

 mence before April, as the seeds will not germinate 

 in a low temperature ; and if frames are available 

 it is best to sow broadcast in them in January or 

 February on a hot bed, and cover the glass with 

 mats till the seed appears. If the soil gets dry, a 

 slight watering should be given, but no damp must 

 be allowed to enter. The plants should be thinned 

 when they get four leaves, and must be placed half 

 an inch apart, and air given them when the weather 

 permits. The heat should not be more than 60° 

 in the daytime and 50° at night. 



For open air sowing, the seed should be sown 

 in drills eight to twelve inches apart, according to 

 the sorts, and as the carrots make their appearance, 

 hoeing, weeding, watering, and thinning them to 

 half an inch apart should be attended to, and when 

 the plants are the size of a lead pencil, thin them 

 to three or four inches apart, and before the last 

 thinning is completed amongst them there should 

 be small delicate carrots fit for the table. 



When carrot leaves begin to change colour the 

 roots should be taken up and the tops cut off, and 



