174 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



with strong raffia. Each plant is then covered from the base 

 to the tips of the .leaves with dry hay or straw, 3m. thick, kept 

 in position by raffia, and the whole is then covered with soil 

 from the sides of the trench, in the same way as celery is 

 earthed up. Blanching is completed in about a month. Put 

 litter over the tops of the ridges to protect from frost. 



CARROTS. 



Daucus Carota. 



EXCELLENT crops of Carrots can be grown -on any well 

 cultivated garden soil, though a deep sandy loam suits 

 them best, and it is on this class of soil that the most handsome 

 roots of the long varieties are produced. On soil of a heavy 

 nature the varieties grown should be confined to those which 

 are short or stump-rooted, and if before sowing it is well 

 pulverized and made free of lumps, crops quite as satis- 

 factory and profitable can be obtained as on lighter soil. 

 Whatever its nature may be the soil should always be free 

 of fresh manure near the surface or the roots will fork badly. 

 When the soil is so poor as to be in need of manure this may 

 safely be placed ^beneath the top spit, or thoroughly decayed 

 manure which has been well broken up may be dug in, but it is 

 always better, especially when the long-rooted varieties are to 

 be grown, to select ground which was deeply dug and manured 

 for some other crop at least six months previously. 



The demand for Carrots in some form is fairly constant 

 throughout the year, so that it is a safe crop to grow. When 

 the soil is of a suitable description all the land that can be 

 spared from other crops may be profitably devoted to Carrots. 



The culture of the Carrot in the garden may be divided into 

 three well-defined sections forcing in frames, early crops on 

 sheltered beds, and main crops in the open gr'ound, but in 

 addition to these the intensive gardener will find it profitable 

 to have a few beds of tender young Carrots ready for use in 

 the autumn, when the main-crop roots are getting large and 

 coarse. 



