142 CARROT. 



distance from each other, — four or five inches if they are 

 to be drawn when young, and from eight to ten, if they are 

 intended to reach their full size. In order to preserve the 

 roots for use, they should be dug up about the beginning of 

 November, and laid in sand in a dry place, out of the reach of 

 frost." Miller. 



Parkinson informs us, that in his time carrot leaves were 

 thought so ornamental, that ladies wore them instead of feathers. 

 A pretty effect may be produced in winter, by selecting a large 

 root, cutting it over about three inches from the top, and placing 

 it in a shallow vessel of water in a warm room. The young and 

 delicate leaves soon unfold themselves, and afford a very lively 

 and elegant object. 



M. Walford, a foreign agriculturist, states, that he is accus- 

 tomed to sow carrots whenever he makes a plantation of pines, 

 or other trees, when they begin to lose their leaves. On pull- 

 ing up the carrots, he finds that the roots of the trees sustain 

 little injury by twining around them; and the spaces that are 

 left being soon filled with light mould, the tender roots of the 

 young trees shoot with greater facility *. 



Qualities and general Uses. — As a culinary article, the 

 carrot is well known : it also affords a wholesome and nutritious 

 food for cattle. A good wine may be made from the roots, and 

 an ardent spirit. M. Brieger obtained from ten pounds of the 

 root, one quart of what is called " first runnings," and half a pint 

 of very strong spirit. It has been found that an acre of carrots 

 produce considerably more sugar than five quarters of barley, the 

 average product of an acre. A useful article of diet for voy- 

 agers is obtained from the root dried, and reduced to powder, 

 and a tolerable kind of bread has been made from it. In the 

 neighbourhood of Dusseldorf, and some other places, it is 

 roasted and mixed with coffee, in various proportions. The 

 seeds fermented in malt liquor give it an agreeable flavour, re- 

 sembling that of lemon peel. 



The root of the carrot contains more saccharine matter than 

 barley, more likewise than the root of the parsnip, and is only 

 inferior in this respect to the beet. According to Professor 

 Brande, 1000 parts of carrots yield 95 parts of saccharine mat- 



• Nouveau Dictionaire d'Histoire Naturelle, tom. iv. p. 369. 



