CARROT. 57 



also be rubbed between the hands, and mixed with 

 some dry sand or wood ashes, to separate them as 

 much as possible. The common method of sowing 

 them is upon beds three or four feet broad, and 

 afterwards raked in smoothly and evenly : the teeth 

 of the rake ought to be wider than are generally 

 used, as the seed is apt to be drawn up in heaps. 

 The author considers that sowing the seed in shal- 

 low drills, nine or twelve inches apart, is a preferable 

 way, as it admits of the hoe being made use of with 

 greater facility in thinning, and cleansing them 

 from weeds; and, in a given space of ground, a 

 greater crop and finer roots can be produced than 

 by sowing broadcast in beds. 



As soon as the plants are up, and can be well 

 distinguished, a hoe about three or four inches 

 broad should be used to thin and clear them from 

 weeds. Thin from three to five inches' distance 

 such as are designed for drawing young ; but the 

 main crop, intended for large and good sized roots, 

 must be thinned to six inches. The whole should be 

 kept clear from weeds in their advancing young 

 growth. Towards the end of October they will have 

 attained their full growth, and in the beginning of 

 November, as soon as the leaves begin to turn 

 yellow, the roots can be taken up in a dry day, the 

 tops being cut off within an inch or two of the 

 crown, and can be packed among dry earth or sand 

 in the store-house for winter use. They will keep 

 well, pitted the same as potatoes. In either way, if 

 frost be excluded, they will keep perfectly well until 

 March or April of the following year. 



