520 



CULTURE or THE SMALL CARROT 



excellent for using green^ and for making conserves^ and is 

 largely grown for these purposes ; and the Beurre^ or Ha- 

 ricot d^ Alger Noir^ is the excellent mange-tout_, which is 

 not at all known with us. The pod is quite tender^ of 

 a yellowish white^ and it is allowed to become larger than 

 those of fully grown Scarlet Runners^ and then cooked entire. 

 This vegetable is both distinct and good^ and deserves uni- 

 versal cultivation in the British Isles. A new variety, called 

 H. Cosse violette, with violet pods_, is also very tender and 

 of good flavour. 



Culture of the small Carrot of the Paris Market. — 

 Every visitor to the Halles of Paris oi the streets near them 

 during the earlier hours of the day, must have noticed 

 vast quantities of pretty, dwarf, tender little Carrots. They 

 are always fresh, always to be had, and never contain a 

 particle of the tissue which makes the coarser Carrots so 

 much less valuable. Even when we do grow the best 

 varieties of dwarf Carrots in this country, they never present 

 the cleanly appearance of those of the Paris market gardens, 

 nor are they so tender and good; the following article, 

 therefore, on cultivating them both out of doors and in 

 frames, by M. Courtois- Gerard, of Paris, may prove useful 

 to admirers of this vegetable in its most perfect condition. 

 Practically, and in a few words, the success of the Paris 

 gardeners Avith the small Carrot results from sowing it, both 

 in frames and in the open air, on very rich friable ground — 

 the surface for a couple of inches being purely decomposed 

 stable manure, and from gi™g it abundance of water when- 

 ever it requires it — thus securing quick unchecked growth 

 and tenderness of texture. However, we will let this ex- 

 perienced cultivator speak for himself: — 



" The common Carrot has produced several varieties, but 

 the early or Dutch red, introduced into France about 1800, 

 the Demi-long, and the Rouge Courte a Chassis, are the 

 chief kinds grown in the market gardens of Paris. 



" Culture in Frames. — At the beginning of December, a 

 hotbed is prepared of fifteen or sixteen inches in thickness, 

 the heat being allowed to rise to from 65° to 80° Fahr. 

 The frames are next placed in position, and filled with 



