CAR 



[201] 



OAR 



Gcthyllis and Lapiedra). C. spiralis, 

 pink, Cape of Good Hope, 1791. A very 

 neat little bulb, with spiral leaves and 

 starry pinkish flowers having green tops, 

 requiring the same treatment as Ixia. 



CARROT. (Da'ttcw caro'ta). 



Varieties. 'Those with a long taper- 

 ing root are named long carrots ; and 

 those having one that is nearly regularly 

 cylindrical, abruptly terminating, are 

 denominated horn carrots. The first are 

 employed for the main crops ; the second, 

 on account of their superior delicate fla- 

 vour, are advantageously grown for early 

 use, and for shallow soils. 



Horn carrots. Early red. Common 

 early. Dutch, for forcing. Long. This 

 last is the best for the summer crop. 



Long carrots. White Belgium, Yel- 

 low, Long yellow, Purple, Long red, 

 Chertsey and Surrey. Superb green- 

 topped, or Altringham. The two last 

 are the best for main crops. 



Soil and Situation. Carrots require a 

 warm, light, rich soil, dug full two 

 spades deep. With the bottom spit it is a 

 good practice to turn in a little well-de- 

 cayed manure ; but no general application 

 of it to the surface should be allowed in 

 the year they are sown; but a spot should 

 be allotted them which has been made 

 rich for the growth of crops in the pre- 

 vious year, or else purposely prepared by 

 manuring and trenching in the preced- 

 ing autumn. The fresh application of 

 manure is liable to cause their growing 

 forked, and to expend themselves in 

 fibres, as well as to be worm-eaten ; if 

 the soil is at all binding it should be well 

 pulverized by digging very small spits at 

 a time. Pigeons' dung is a good manure 

 for the carrot. 



Time and Mode of Sowing. The first 

 sowing for the production of plants to 

 draw whilst young, should take place in 

 a moderate hotbed, during January, and 

 in a warm border at the conclusion of 

 February, or early in March. At the 

 close of the last month, or preferably, in 

 the first half of April, the main crop 

 must be inserted; though, to avoid the 

 maggot, it is even recommended not to 

 do so until its close. In May and July 

 the sowing may be repeated for produc- 

 tion in autumn, and lastly in August, to 

 stand through the winter, and produce 



in early spring. For sowing, a calm day 

 should be selected; and the seeds should 

 be separated by rubbing them between 

 the hands, with the admixture of a little 

 sand or dry coal-ashes ; otherwise they 

 cannot be sown regularly. Sow thinly, 

 in drills eight inches apart for the horn, 

 and ten or twelve inches for the long ; 

 and the beds not more than four feet 

 wide, for the convenience of after culti- 

 vation. The larger weeds must be con- 

 tinually removed by hand, and when the 

 plants are seven or eight weeks old, or 

 when they have got four leaves two or 

 or three inches long, they should be 

 thinned, those intended for drawing 

 young, to four or five inches apart, and 

 those to attain their full growth to ten ; 

 at the same time the ground must be 

 small-hoed, which operation should be 

 regularly performed every three or four 

 weeks, until the growth of the plants 

 becomes an effectual hindrance to the 

 growth of the weeds. The crop to stand 

 through the winter should, in frosty 

 weather, be sheltered with a covering of 

 litter, as, if it occurs with much seve- 

 rity, it often destroys them. The hotbed 

 for the first sowing of the year must be 

 moderate, and earthed about sixteen 

 inches deep ; two or three linings of hot 

 dung, as the heat decreases, will be suf- 

 ficient to bring them to a state fit for 

 use. These are the first in production, 

 but are closely followed by those that 

 have withstood the winter. The tempe- 

 rature must never exceed 73, nor fall 

 lower than 55. They need not be 

 thinned to more than three inches apart. 

 At the close of October, or early in No- 

 vember, as soon as the leaves change 

 colour, the main crop may be dug up, 

 and laid in alternate layers with sand, 

 in a dry outhouse, previously to doing 

 which the tops and any adhering earth 

 must be removed. A dry day should 

 always be chosen for taking them up. 



To obtain Seed. Leave some where 

 raised; but if this is impracticable, some 

 of the finest roots should be selected, and 

 their tops not cut so close as those for 

 storing. These likewise must be placed 

 in sand until February or March, then 

 to be planted out two feet asunder in a 

 stiff loamy soil. Those left where grown, 

 or those planted at the close of autumn, 



