68 



CARROT. 



Use, — " The parts of the cardoon that are eaten are not 

 those belonging immediately to the flower, as of the arti- 

 choke, but the roots, stalks, and middle ribs of the leaves* 

 and chiefly the latter, which are thick and crisp. But as 

 all these are naturally bitter, the plants are blanched by being 

 tied up like lettuces, about the month of September, and 

 having earth thrown upon their lower parts to the depth of 

 eighteen inches or two feet. Cardoons come into season 

 about the end of November ; and are either eaten alone, or 

 as a sauce to animal food, particularly roast meat ; or are 

 introduced as a dish in the second course." — Loudon, 



CxiRROT. — Daucus, — This plant is said to be a native 

 of Great Britain, where it is still found growing wild. There 

 are many varieties of the carrot; and the following are 

 the finest sorts enumerated in Mr. Russell's Catalogue : 



Altrinffham, (a superior sort,) Lemon, 

 Early horn, Long- orange, 



Cremer, (fine for the table,) Blood red. 



Soih — " The carrot requires a light, mellow soil, mixed 

 with sand, and should be dug or trenched one or two spades 

 deep, breaking well all the lumpy parts, so as to form a 

 porous bed, and an even surface. The orange and red 

 sorts, on account of their longer roots, require a soil pro- 

 portionably deeper than the horn." 



Seed estimate and sowing. — The seeds have numerous 

 forked hairs on their borders, by wdiich they adhere together, 

 and therefore should, previously to sov/ing, be rubbed be- 

 tween the hands, and mixed with dry sand, in order to sepa- 

 rate them as much as possible. They are also very light, 

 and therefore a calm day must be chosen for sowing ; and 

 the seeds should be disseminated equally, and trodden in 

 before raking. Previously to sowing, if convenient, the 

 seed should be proven, by sowing a few in a pot, and placing 

 it in a hot-bed or hot-house, as it is more frequently bad 

 than most seeds. For a bed 4^ feet by 30, one ounce w411 

 be requisite, and the same for 150 feet of drill row. Dr. 

 Deane advises to sow carrots in drills from 9 to 12 inches 

 apart, across beds 4 feet wide. M'Mahon directs to sow 

 thin in drills, distant from each other from 8 to 10 inches, 

 and to thin them to 3 inches, plant from plant, in the rows. 



To save seed, — Plant some largest, best roots early in the 

 spring, tv/o feet apart ; insert them a few inches over the 



i 



