The Carrot 



189 



Early Forcing (or similar varieties) is one of the best for 

 growing in hotbeds or colclframes, or in autumn for home 

 use. The Half-long Danvers is one of the reliable mid- 

 season varieties. For late or main-season crop, the Long 

 Scarlet is excellent ; and for stock-feeding the Long Orange 

 and Long White or Belgian are used. These latter types 

 are also good for home use, although when they are allowed 

 to reach their full size they are likely to be somewhat coarse 

 in texture. 



The Carrot Plant 



Daucus. UmhelUferw. About 60 species in many parts of 

 the world, including several native in North America, very few 

 known to cultivation. 



D. Carota, Linn., var. sativa, DC. Prodr. iv, 211. 1830. Cul- 

 tivated Carrot. More or less hairy annual and biennial, with 

 fern-like foliage : taproot single, much thickened and forming 

 the carrot of gardens: leaves sparsely bristly -hairy, mostly 

 long-stalked, the base of the petiole expanded ; blade pinnately 

 decompound, the many ultimate segments nearly linear and 

 acute: stem erect, 2 -to 3 ft., bristly-hairy, grooved, much 

 branched, bearing showy compound many-rayed umbels on 

 the ends of long branches, the involucre bracts leaf-like and 

 cleft into linear divisions : flowers small and numerous, in 

 globular umbellets, the whole umbel more or less globular, 

 the outer flowers with unequal petals and usually on longer 

 pedicels or rays; petals 5, obovate and obtuse or emargi- 

 nate; anthers exserted ; style short and stout: fruit ("seed") 

 one of the two separable carpels, oblong, about % in. long, 

 convex on the back and bearing 3 ridges and intermediate 

 spiny or wavy -ribs, flat and 2-ribbed on the front or face, 

 crowned with the short style-beak (which may be broken 

 off in commercial seeds), weighing 1 to 2 mg. ; longevity 4 

 or 5 years. — Cultigen ; derived from the wild carrot (D. 

 Carota, which is native in Europe, N. Africa and Asia, and 



