612 D A U 
ground is raked over, part of the feeds will be buried 
too deep, and others will be in danger of being drawn 
up into heaps ; fo the plants will come up in bunches, 
- and other parts of the ground be naked, which fliould 
always be carefully avoided. 
The feeds have a great quantity of frnall forked hairs 
upon their borders, by which they clofely adhere, fo 
that they are difficult to fow even, fo as not to come up 
in patches ; they fliould therefore be rubbed well through 
both hands, whereby the feed will be feparated before 
it is fown ; then a calm day fliould be chofen to fow it 
in ; for, if the wind blows, it will be impoffible to fow it 
equal, for the feeds being very light, will be blown into 
heaps. When the feed is fown, the ground Ihould be 
trod pretty clofe with the feet, that it may be buried, 
and then the ground muff be raked level. When the 
plantsare come up, and have got four leaves, the ground 
fliould be hoed with a fmall hoe about three inches 
wide, cutting down all young weeds, and feparating the 
plants to four inches diftance each way, that they may 
get ftrength; and, in about a month or five v. eeks after, 
when the weeds begin to grow again, the ground ffiould 
be hoed over a fecond time, in which you fliould be care¬ 
ful not to leave two carrots clofe to each other, as alfo 
to feparate them to a greater difiance, cutting down all 
weeds, and flightly fiirring the furface of the ground in 
every place, the better to prevent young weeds from 
Springing, as alfo to facilitate the growth of the young 
carrots. In about a month or five weeks after, they mu ft 
be hoed a third time, when you mu ft clear the weeds as 
before ; and now the carrots fliould be cut out to the 
difiance they are to remain, which mud be proportioned 
to the fize you intend to have them grow. If they are 
to be drawn while young, five or fix inches afunder will 
be fufficient; but, if they are to grow large before they 
are pulled up, they fliould be left eight or ten inches 
difiant every way. You mu ft alfo keep them clear from 
weeds, which, if fufFered to grow amongft the carrots, 
will greatly prejudice them. 
The fecond feafon for fovving tliefe feeds is in Febru¬ 
ary, on warm banks, fituated near the fhelter of a wall, 
pale, or hedge ; but tliofe which are intended for the 
open large quarters, fliould not be fown before the be¬ 
ginning of March, nor fliould you fow any later than the 
end of the fame month; for tliofe which are fown in 
April or May, will run up to feed before their roots have 
any bulk, efpecially if the weather fliould prove hot and 
dry. In July you may fow again for an autumnal crop ; 
and at the end of Auguft you may fow fome to Hand the 
winter; by which method you will have early carrots' 
in March, before the fpring fowing will be fit to draw ; 
but tliefe are feldom fo well tailed, and are often very 
tough and fticky-. However, as young carrots are gene¬ 
rally expected early in the fpring, moft people fow fome 
at this feafon ; but thefe Ihould be fown upon warm 
borders and dry land, otherwife they tire feldom good. 
If the winter fliould prove very fevere, it vv-ill be proper 
to cover the young carrots with peafe-haulm, the haulm 
iof afparagus, or fome fuch light covering, to prevent the 
frofi from penetrating.into the ground, which often de- 
ilroys the carrots where this care is wanting ; but, if in 
very hard wipters the carrots fliould be all defiroyed 
which were fown in autumn, there Ihould be a hot-bed 
made early in the fpring to fow fome, which will be fit 
for ufe long before any that are fown in the full ground; 
but thefe beds fhould be earthed fifteen cr lixteen incites 
deep, that the roots may have a proper depth of foil to 
run down. If thefe beds are lined with hot dung twice, 
at fuch times when the heat of the beds decline, it will 
greatly forward the growth of the carrots, but there 
fliould be great care taken not to draw the plants up too 
•weak ; thefe may be allowed to grow cloler together 
than tlvofe fown in the full ground, becaufe they will be 
drawn for ufe very young. Where the carrots are de- 
c u s. 
figned to have large roots, they mu ft never (land too 
clofe, nor fhould they have any other crop mixed with 
them. 
In the Field. This root has been long cultivated in gar¬ 
dens for the table, but has not, till of late years, been 
cultivated in the fields for cattle, nor has it been prac¬ 
ticed as yet but in a few parts of England ; it is greatly 
to be wiflied, that the culture of it were extended to 
every part of England where the foil is proper for the 
purpofe ; for there is {cartely any root which more ae- 
ferves it, being a very hearty, good, food for moft forts 
of animals. One acre of carrots, if well planted, w ill 
fatten a greater number of fheep or bullocks than three 
acres of turnips, and the fleffi of thefe animals will be 
firmer and better tailed. Horfes are extremely fond of 
thefe roots, and for hogs there is not any better food. 
We have alfo known thefe roots cultivated for feeding 
of deer in parks, which has proved of excellent ufe in 
hard winters, when there has been a fcarcity of other 
food ; at which times great numbers of deer have pe- 
riflied for want, and -tliofe which have efcaped, have 
been fo much reduced, as not to recover their fleffi the 
following fummer ; whereas, tliofe fed with carrots have 
been kept in good condition all the winter, and upon tire 
growth of the grafs in the fpring, have been fat early in 
the feafon, which is an advantage, where the grafs is ge¬ 
nerally backward in its grow th. There is alfo an advan¬ 
tage in the cultivation of this root beyond that of the 
turnip, becaufe the crop is not fo liable to fail; for, 
as the carrots are fown in the lpring, the plants generally 
come up well, and unlefs the months of June and July 
prove very bad, there is no-danger of tire crop fucceed- 
ing; whereas -turnips are frequently defiroyed by the flies 
at their fil'd coming up, and in dry autumns they are at¬ 
tacked by caterpillars, which in a fliort time devour 
whole fields, but carrots are not attacked by thefe ver-> 
min ; therefore every farmer who has a flock of cattle 
or fheep, ffiould always have a fupply of thefe roots, if 
he has land proper for tire purpofe, which muft be light, 
and of a proper depth to admit of the roots running down. 
In preparing the land for carrots, if it has not been in 
tillage before, it fliould be ploughed early in autumn, 
and then ploughed a profs again before winter, laying it 
up in high ridges to mellow by the froft ; and, if the 
ground is poor, there fliould be fome rotten dung fpread 
over it in winter, which fliould be ploughed in about 
the beginning of February ; then in March the ground 
fliouid be ploughed again to receive the feeds; in the 
doing of which, lome farmers have two ploughs, one fol¬ 
lowing the other in the fame furrow, fo that the ground 
is looiened a foot and a half deep. Others have men with 
fpades following the plough in the furrows, turning up 
a fpit of earth from the bottom, which they lay upon 
the top, levelling it fmootli, and breaking the clods ; 
the latter method is attended with a little more expcnce, 
but is much to be preferred to the firft, becaufe in this 
way the clods are more broken, and the furface of the 
ground is laid much evener. If the land has been in til¬ 
lage before, it will require but three ploughing?; the 
firfi juft before Winter, when it fliould be laid in high 
ridges, for the reafons before given ; the fecond crofs 
ploughing fliould be in February, after which, if it is 
well harrowed to break the clods, it will be of great fer- 
vice ; the lafi time mult be in March, to receive the 
feeds; this fliould be performed in the manner before- 
mentioned. After this third ploughing, if there remain 
great clods of eaith unbroken, it will be proper to har¬ 
row it well before the feeds aretfown. One pound and a 
half of feeds will be fufficient for an acre of land ; bu‘, 
as they are apt to adhere together, it renders them more 
difficult to low even than moft other forts ; therefore 
fome mix a quantity of dry fand with their feeds, rub¬ 
bing them well together, fo as to feparate the carrot- 
feeds from each other, which is a good method. After 
