THE CARROT CROP. 



the plant and of the soil, that soils of the lighter class are, 

 cceteris paribus, more suitable than those of the heavier 

 class; the medium description, which we should term 

 loams, probably being those which, under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, carry the most productive crops. In strong 

 loams, those of an argillaceous character, the parsnip 

 would be a more suitable plant than the carrot; and as 

 these plants greatly resemble each other in all their agri- 

 cultural characters, the parsnip, on such soils, offers itself 

 as a ready substitute for the carrot. One necessary condi- 

 tion in all soils for the cultivation of carrots, is depth ; if 

 this does not exist naturally, as is seen in the light sands 

 or vegetable moulds which we meet with in the green 

 sandstone formations in Bedfordshire, Surrey, or the allu- 

 vial or warped soils of the valleys of the Thames, Hurnber, 

 &c., it must be effected by deep ploughing and subsoiling, 

 or otherwise breaking-up and stirring the substratum to 

 a sufficient depth. Unless this be done the carrot will 

 either be stunted in its growth, if the subsoil be compact 

 and hard, or if it be sufficiently pervious to allow the 

 root to penetrate, a considerable portion of it will be 

 broken off in the operation of lifting at harvest, and left 

 in the ground. Deep cultivation is also of vital import- 

 ance to the crop, as the tendency of the plant is to send 

 down, at an early period of its growth, a long thin tap- 

 root into the soil, through which it receives those supplies 

 of food necessary for the development of its upper portions. 

 And one of the great objects in our cultivation is to 

 support in the plant this habit of reliance upon the tap- 

 root for the supply of its wants, rather than to seek to 

 increase its sources of supply by throwing out forks or 

 lateral subordinate roots nearer to the surface. 



This tendency to "fork" is frequently noticeable in 

 unfavourable soils, or where they are either too shallow 

 or contain large stones or other obstructions, and also 



