116 ON ROOT CROPS. 



FRANCIS DODGE'S STATEMENT. 



To the Committee on Moot Crops : 



Gentlemen, — I offer for premium a crop of Carrots, raised on 

 192 rods of land ; the product being 1046 baskets, a basket weigh- 

 ing 66 pounds, making thirty-four and a half tons, or at the rate of 

 twenty-eight and three quarter tons per acre. The land was a dark 

 loam, resting on a subsoil of clayey gravel, and would be called by 

 most persons rocky land. A crop of carrots was taken from the land 

 last year — the exact amount I do not know. The manure applied 

 was about seven cords of musclebed per acre. This year it had ten 

 cords of manure from the barn cellar spread upon it and ploughed 

 in, the first of May, the plough running about ten inches. After 

 this ploughing it remained a week or ten days, giving time for the 

 weeds to start, when a heavy harrow passed over the ground, killing 

 most of them. On the 2d of May it was ridged up with a small 

 plough, drawn by a horse, going twice in the same furrow. My 

 reason for thus ridging the land was, I thought it less expensive to 

 rake the rocks into the dead furrow, than in any other way to get rid 

 of them ; though there cannot be so many rows on a given piece, the 

 seed being sown on the ridge. The rows were twenty-two inches 

 apart. After the land was ridged, a common hand rake passed over 

 them, leaving nearly a level surface. 



Up'^n this ground one pound of seed of the common Orange va- 

 riety was sown from a wooden machine. The carrots were hoed 

 three times and weeded twice, the last hoing being just before the 

 tops covered the ground. They were dug with a spade, and the 

 tops carefully saved and fed to my cows, the tops at that time being 

 knee high. Perhaps I ought to remark that on one side stood a row 

 of apple trees, that damaged the crop some five tons. 

 The expense of cultivation was as follows : 



Interest on land at 6 per cent., - - 7,20 



Ten cords of manure, at $6 per cord, - - 60,00 



Spreading the same .... 3,00 



Ploughing do. - - • - - 2,50 



Harrowing do. • • - 2,00 



Ploughing with horse and raking, • - 4,00 



Seed, - - . . 1,00 



Sowing, - . - . .1,00 



Hoeing and weeding, • - • 15,00 



