450 UMBELLIFER^ 



colour; the rind is pale orange-red, the rather small core 

 is yellow. It needs good deep soil for proper growth and is 

 superior in feeding value to the White Belgian variety. 



For growth upon shallower soils the ' Scarlet Intermediate ' 

 Varieties are best. They are very thick, usually only about 

 two-thirds the length of the Red Altringham, and of excellent 

 feeding-quality. Some of them are adapted for market-garden 

 purposes. 



Long Red Surrey is a variety with tapering roots of great 

 length in proportion to their thickness ; the rind is deep red, core 

 yellowish. For field cultivation it is not so good as Altringham. 



Soil. — Stiff soils and those which are very shallow are unsuited 

 to this crop. 



The long varieties of carrots require a deep well-pulverised 

 sandy loam : on shallow soils, especially where the subsoil is 

 stony or imperfectly broken up, the deep-growing varieties 

 lose their symmetrical shape and become irregular, ' fanged ' or 

 'forked,' some of the secondary roots becoming thickened as 

 well as the main primary root. To some extent the variety can 

 be adapted to the character of the soil ; a few of the short thick 

 kinds sometimes produce a fair crop on comparatively shallow 

 joiL 



Sowing. — The * seed ' of the carrot germinates somewhat 

 slowly, and the young plants on account of their small narrow 

 leaves are liable to be smothered by annual weeds. To avoid 

 this it is advisable to damp the ' seed ' and allow it to remain in 

 a small heap for seven or eight days until signs of germination are 

 apparent before drilling. The ' seed ' is best mixed and rubbed 

 with dry sand or ashes previous to sowing. The crop is gener- 

 ally drilled in rows from i8 to 24 inches apart, on well-cleaned 

 and finely pulverised soil. The superabundant young plants are 

 subsequently hoed out, and the remainder singled and left about 6 

 or 7 inches apart. From the beginning to the end of April is the 

 best time for sowing ; earlier than this the temperature is too low 



