On the Farming of Suffolk. 



293 



adhering in the drill ; it is thus drilled as regularly as the nature 

 of the seed will allow : the drillman will, however, most hkelj oh- 

 ject to this admixture, as the charcoal-dust gives him much the 

 appearance of a chimney-sweep. The land harrowed before, and 

 rolled before and after drilling with a very light roller; the dis- 

 tance between the drills on light land is about 1 foot. The carrots 

 are up in about three weeks, and in about a fortnight more the 

 rows will be sufficiently visible for a 6 or 8-inch Dutch hoe to be 

 used between them ; in about a week or ten days after the Dutch 

 hoeing the carrots are singled out with the common hoe, selecting 

 all the strongest plants at about 8 inches apart ; this costs from 55. 

 to 65. per acre, and in three weeks or a month they require an- 

 other hoeing. 



The crops of carrots vary from 400 to 1400 bushels, or from 10 

 to 30 tons per acre. The purposes to which they are applied are 

 feeding horses, cows, and fattening bullocks, for all of which they 

 have been proved excellent. 



This is the system practised on the western light lands. I am 

 indebted to J. Rodwell, Esq., for a description of that of the 

 eastern district : — 



The Cultivation of White Carrots. 



" Choose a clean piece of wheat or barley stubble, supposing it to be 

 free from grass : in November or December give it a dressing of from 

 12 to 15 loads per acre of farm-yard manure, then plough it in with a flat 

 ploughing of about 4 or 5 inches deep : in about February or March 

 give it a ploughing of about 9 inches deep, followed by a subsoil plough- 

 ing of about 5 or 6 inches additional depth, making the soil all broken 

 at least 14 inches deep : it then lies till about the middle of April, when 

 give it two or three heavy harrowings to destroy the surface weeds, then 

 follow this with a 2-horse roll to keep in the moisture and again to en- 

 courage vegetation ; it then lies in this manner till the time is come for 

 putting in the seed, which will be about the last week in April or the 

 first week in May ; then give it two or more harrowings as may be re- 

 quired, followed again by a 2-horse roll if the land is dry or cloddy, if it 

 is not, a light barley roll is preferable ; it will then be prepared for the 

 seed, which should be put on with the drill as follows : — 



The seed is laid in water in a bag for 48 hours about 8 or 9 days 

 before drilling; it is then taken out and spread on a floor about 9 or 10 

 inches thick, according to the temperature of the weather, so as not to 

 let it get too warm ; in about 6 or 7 days' time it will be nearly sprouted, 

 when it will be quite time to put it in the ground, at 4 lbs. or 5 lbs. of 

 dry seed to the acre, which deposit by mixing dry sand with it, making 

 up altogether sand and seed mixed 4 pecks or thereabouts, according to 

 the dryness and fitness of the seed for working through the drill ; then 

 follow the I or 2-horse roll with the drill as above mentioned, the rows 

 at about 9 or 10 inches apart, the land after the drill being left with the 

 drill marks quite open ; the land is then left till fit for hoeing, which 



VOL. VIII. X 



