196 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



Early Half-long Scarlet Nantes Carrot. 



become one of the most generally cultivated of all the kitchen- 

 garden varieties of Carrots, and indeed, by a remarkable combination 



of good qualities, it justifies 

 the preference which is given 

 to it. It excels all the other 

 kinds of Half-long Carrots in 

 earliness, without being inferior 

 to them in productiveness. Its 

 roots, which are very clean- 

 skinned and even in shape, are 

 easily pulled, and keep well ; 

 and, lastly, its somewhat deeper 

 colour and freedom from heart 

 or core cause it to be preferred 

 to all the other kinds for table 

 use. For all these reasons the 

 Early Nantes Carrot deserves 

 to be very generally grown ; 

 but it requires a certain amount 

 of care, for, like all improved and early varieties, it suffers more 

 than the ordinary coarser kinds from want of nourishment and 

 watering. It only attains its full quality in a mellow, deep soil 

 which has been previously well enriched with vegetable mould, 

 compost, or manure, and which is sufficiently substantial and 

 kept moist by frequent waterings. The roots are more regular 

 in shape and smoother in skin in proportion 

 as the soil is soft and free from stones and 

 gravel. Any attention given to the cultivation 

 of this Carrot will be amply repaid by a more 

 abundant crop, and especially by the finer 

 appearance and improved quality of the roots. 

 In the neighbourhood of Nantes another 

 Half-long variety of Carrot is grown, which has 

 a very blunt-pointed root, sometimes broader 

 at the end than at the neck, like the Jersey 

 Navet Turnip. This variety is larger than the 

 Nantes Carrot which we have just described, 

 and also differs from it in having a very large 

 yellow heart or core. 



Early Carentan Carrot. A very distinct, 

 slender, almost cylindrical variety, with a very 

 fine neck, and very small and few leaves ; skin 

 glossy, smooth ; flesh red, without any heart Early Carentan Carrot 

 or core. This variety can be sown pretty thick, '(* natural size )- 

 and is consequently very well adapted for frame culture. It does 

 best when grown in very rich soil or compost. Being a fancy 



