THE GENESEE FARMER. 



85 



mer can not make his calculations so surely. If he 

 could, it would have been settled long ago at what 

 time he should sow to insure perfect success. But 

 ditference of seasons, climate, and other causes, 

 show him i)lainly that the time and process which 

 answers well one year, may fail the next. 



In regard to sowing timothy with other crops, I 

 have long since given that plan up. It is true that 

 sometimes a crop may be obtained the second year 

 after sowing; but, as a general result, I have found 

 that the young grass grows weak and spindling, 

 and when the crop which has kept it in the shade 

 till harvest is cut, the hot sun is too much for it, 

 and a great portion of it perishes. 



After trying various ways and seasons of sowing 

 timothy, the plan which I have settled upon as the 

 most certain, is as follows. Plow the ground 

 thoroughly in the fall, and harrow crosswise until 

 it is well pulverized. Then take three poles and 

 make something like the letter A; hitch to the 

 point where the two ends join, and drag this across 

 the harrowing. This will till up the holes and 

 level the ground pretty well. Then take a light 

 brush and go across the other way, and there will 

 be a good level bottom for a meadow. This is 

 indispensable, now that machinery is expected to 

 mow the most of our meadows. The ground now 

 is in order to receive the seed, which should be 

 sown any time in February or the beginning of 

 March. My plan is to sow by stakes, and I prefer 

 a light snow to sow upon, as thereby I can better 

 see what I am doing. 1 sow about a peck of clean 

 seed to the acre, and generally cut a good half crop 

 the first year. Sometimes seed sown in September 

 does well here, but more frequently it is winter 

 killed. This is obviated by sowing in February or 

 March, and, if sown thick enough, we rarely fail. 

 When a set is obtained, a very little good manure 

 hauled out each winter when the ground is hard, 

 will keep it improvmg. 



Never turn on heavy stock when the ground is 

 soft; but the aim should be to keep a level, smooth 

 bottom. With a crop that requires so little after- 

 culture as timothy, every one who wishes to sow 

 should prepare his ground in the very best manner, 

 for the old saying is, "an inch at the bottom is 

 worth two at the top." wxi. d. mitcuell. 



Fill (?<(A", Warren Co., Mb. 



ON THE BEST MODE OF KAISING CAKROXS, AND 

 THEER VALUE JfOR STOCK. 



The varieties of carrots most commonly raised 

 are the long orange, wiiite Belgian, and the im- 

 proved Altriugham. I believe that the long orange 

 carrot is generally preferred as a field crop, although 

 the white Belgian will sometimes produce larger 

 crops. Like all other plants designed for field cul- 

 ture, the carrot has been wonderfully improved in 

 its nature and the abundance of its produce. Such 

 is the great productiveness of this crop, under the 

 best culture, that few, if any others, can equal it 

 in value. The soils best suited to the culture of 

 carrots, are deep, rich loams, and rich reclaimed 

 bogs. Go(yI sandy loams will also produce abund- 

 antly. Light, sandy soils wiU yield good crops, if 

 well manured and thoroughly pulverized ; in short, 

 any soil sufficiently rich, and that can be cultivated to 

 the depth of ten or twelve inches, will bring excel- 



lent crops. The soil must be thoroughly pulver- 

 ized to a considerable depth — not less than ten 

 inches will answer, at any rate. All weeds, roots, 

 and stones, should be raked oif. As many of the 

 weeds as possible should be caused to vegetate and 

 removed before the carrots are sown, which will 

 save much after trouble in keeping the rows clean. 

 Old, well-rotted manure, should be used, as un fer- 

 mented dung IS apt to cause the " fangs" to grow 

 instead of the long roots. 



The manure should be plowed in and well in- 

 corporated with the soil as early in the spring as 

 possible, and the ground plowed several times. By 

 plowing the last time with a side-hill plow — thus 

 turning the furrows all one way, and when four or 

 five furrows are plowed, rak'ng them, the raker 

 standing in the last furrow, and drawing all the 

 rubbish into the furrow, then plowing more, etc., 

 — we obviate the necessity of trampling on the 

 ground, and leave it light and smooth. 



Put in the seed in drills 20 inches apart, with a ma- 

 chine. I think they yield quite as large a crop drilled 

 at this width, or even at two feet, as if they were 

 closer together, and with less rows to work. We 

 find they can be grown with greater profit by 

 working the carrot-cleaner, or a small horse culti- 

 vator, between tlie rows, than if all the work had 

 to be done by hand. W^e plant from the middle to 

 the last of May ; and do not know but those planted 

 late do as well as those planted earlier. Two lbs* 

 of seed are sufficient for an acre. A little white 

 mustard seed may be mixed in to good advantage, 

 as it serves to mark the rows by its more rapid 

 growth, and enables us to keep the weeds down 

 without disturbing the rows. As soon as the car- 

 rots show their third leaf, they should be hoed and 

 cleaned from weeds. Thin them out to about six 

 inches apart in the rows ; after this, hoe and weed 

 them often enough to keep them clean. Clean cul- 

 ture is absolutely necessarj% to have carrots Jo 

 anything. The frequent use of the carrot-cleaner 

 will greatly expedite this business. 



For digging, a sub-soil plow may be used, run- 

 ning it on the left hand side of the row, which 

 will raise them, if your team work steady, so that 

 two men can pull them and keep up with the team. 

 We harvest them from the 10th to the 2oth of No- 

 vember. The freezing of the top of the ground 

 does not injure them ; but it is not safe to let them 

 stand too long, lest they should be frozen in solid, 

 so that they cannot be pulled. Throw them in heaps 

 and cart them to the barn, as it is more comforta- 

 ble cutting off the tops there than in the fields. 

 The tops may be fed to the cows as soon as they 

 are cut off; they make excellent feed, increasing 

 the richness of the milk and butter. The roots 

 will keep better if cut off about an inch above the 

 crown. A cellar that will keep potatoes is too 

 warm for them ; they keep better where they can 

 be kept cool. If piled in large quantities, there 

 should be chimneys, made of slats, and set up every 

 few feet through the pile, in order to ventilate 

 them and keep them from heating. In this way 

 they may be kept well till June. If buried in the 

 ground, they must not be piled too deep, and the 

 ventilators should be left open as late as possible. 



Carrots are the most valuable of all roots for 

 horses. Every person who keeps a horse should 

 feed some, as they aid in the digestion of the other 



