Foreign catalogues give lists of about two dozen varieties, which
differ in earliness, size, color, form, termination of root,
characteristic of growing entirely under or partly above ground, and
in the size of the core or heart. In foreign catalogues, what we call
“Orange,” are known as “Red” Carrots. From a test of these varieties
I have thus far found two, viz.: the Guerande and the Chantenay
worthy of being added to the kinds already grown to a greater or less
extent in the United States. The yellow-fleshed sorts are repudiated
in New England by general consent; yet the Yellow Belgian, on a
limited trial has proved with me to be an exceptionally good keeper.
The Purple or Blood-Red is of a deep purple color, a poor cropper
and by no means attractive to the eye. The remaining varieties may be
classed as follows:--Early, middling early and late. The first class
is made up of the Early Very Short Scarlet, the Early Scarlet Horn
and Guerande. The second class of all the half-long or short-horn
varieties, and the third, of the long varieties, such as Long Orange,
Belgian and Altringham sorts.
In addition to about one-half of these foreign varieties, cultivated
more or less generally in this country, there are several kinds
catalogued by seedsmen, all of which are but improved strains made
by careful selections, through a series of years, from what was
originally imported stock. These strains usually bear the name of
some person. A brief discussion of the more valuable varieties
will now be in order. Here I will lay down three general facts,
viz.:--1st, that of the various orange colored varieties, the
shorter growing kinds are, as a rule, the darker colored and sweeter
flavored. 2d, that the proportion of dark, orange-colored roots in
any crop, while it will depend largely on the care that has been used
in the selection of seed stock for a series of years, does not turn
wholly on this, but soil, season or manure, one or all, have some
influence in this direction. 3d, that the fact that more or less of
the Carrots tend to push seed shoots the first year, while with the
long varieties it may prove that the seed has been allowed to mix
with the wild varieties, yet the probability (marked cases excepted)
is decidedly the other way; while with the short horn varieties
this tendency to push seed shoots the first season, so as to make
something of a show when an acre is glanced over, is quite a common
characteristic with seed of the very purest strain.
[Illustration:
EARLY VERY EARLY SHORT SHORT HORN. LONG ORANGE.
SHORT SCARLET. SCARLET.]
=Early Very Short Scarlet.= (see engraving.)
=Early Short Scarlet Horn.= (see engraving). These two varieties are
the shortest grown and are raised at times in forcing beds, for an
early market, the former very generally so. They are of a very rich
orange color, fine-grained, sweet, and of excellent flavor, heading
the list for quality. Their rich color makes them valuable above all
other kinds for coloring butter. Though quite short, yet the Early
Short Scarlet Horn can be grown to yield a great bulk of roots, from
the fact that from the smallness of their tops the roots can be
grown very thick, two or three abreast all along the rows. When the
small, handy size of this variety is considered in connection with
the superior quality, it stands foremost as a table Carrot, and I
therefore recommend it in preference to all others for family use.
=Short Horn.= (See engraving.) This variety intermediate between the
Early Forcing and Long Orange, with but slight variations in form, is
shown under various names, as Intermediate, Nantes, Half Long, James’
Improved, Stump-Rooted, etc. It is characterized by a darker color
than the average of the Long Orange, finer grain, and a sweeter and
richer flavor. In part from the more solid structure of the Carrot,
and in part from its better stowage, thirty-six measured bushels of
this variety make a ton, while of the larger varieties forty bushels
are required. The best strain of this variety is doubtless the kind
known as the “Danvers” Carrot.
=Danvers Carrot.= In the town of Danvers, Mass., the raising
of Carrots on an extensive scale has for years been quite a
business--the farmers finding a large market in the neighboring
cities of Salem, Lynn and Boston. After years of experimenting they
settled upon a variety which originated among them (as did the
Danvers Onion) known in their locality as the “Danvers Carrot.” It is
in form about midway between the Long Orange and Short Horn class,
growing very generally with a stump root. The great problem in Carrot
growing is to get the greatest bulk with the smallest length of root,
and this is what the Danvers’ growers have attained in their Carrot.
Under their cultivation they raise from twenty to forty tons to the
acre. This Carrot is of a rich, dark orange in color, very smooth and
handsome, and from its length, is easier to dig than the Long Orange.
It is a first-class Carrot for any soil.
[Illustration: GUERANDE CARROT.]
=Guerande or Ox Heart.= This variety is a great favorite with many
who raise Carrots for stock. It is short and chunky in build, of a
rich orange color, and of excellent quality, and the crop can be hand
pulled.
[Illustration: IMPROVED LONG ORANGE.]
[Illustration: DANVERS CARROT.]
=Long Orange, or Long Surry.= This is a standard variety, and in its
various strains is doubtless more generally grown than any other
kind. The chief objection to it is the depth to which it penetrates
the ground, and hence the extra work of digging it; while the end
of the root which causes the extra work is of inferior quality when
compared with the body, differing in this respect from the shorter
varieties, which are of the same quality throughout. The heart
is larger in proportion than in the shorter varieties, which is
considered an objection. The keeping properties are excellent, and in
this respect it is superior to the earlier kinds. On light soil the
roots grow long, straight and make a fine show in the market.
=Altringham.= This is a Carrot of excellent quality for the table,
the flesh being of a rich orange color, crisp and sweet, but as a
cropper it is inferior to the Intermediate or Long Orange varieties,
and hence is but little cultivated.
[Illustration: LARGE WHITE BELGIAN.]
=Large White Belgian.= This is the largest of all varieties and
will yield at least a quarter more than any other sort. The roots
grow several inches out of ground, and all can be readily pulled by
the hand. Analysis shows that it is nearly as sweet as the Mangold
Wurtzel, rather sweeter than the Swede Turnip, and about two thirds
as sweet as the Sugar Beet. The two objections to it are its color
and its keeping properties; it being rather a poor keeper, while the
color has made it a carrot for horses rather than cows. If farmers
have but a small quantity of manure, the White Belgian is a good
variety for them to raise for feeding early in the winter.
THE CULTIVATION, AND THE IMPLEMENTS
NEEDED.
Just as soon as the young plants can be detected breaking round, the
prudent farmer will push the slide hoe, and have his boy weeders
follow immediately after it on hands and knees. Boys that have had a
little experience, with their nimble fingers can do more work than
men, while their wages are only about half as much. On the sea-coast
we hire boys who make a business of weeding, for from seventy-five
cents to a dollar a day. The one great danger in hiring boys is that
careless ones are apt to break off the weeds instead of pulling them
up by the roots. To ascertain their comparative faithfulness, it is
well to quietly mark a few rows of the different weeders, at their
first weeding, and by the time for the second weeding the difference
between a good and a bad one will be very plainly visible.
Don’t accept that theory of the shiftless man, that it is well to
have the weeds grow pretty tall before the first weeding, that the
plants may be protected from the sun. I have noticed that oftentimes
those who act on this theory give over their weeding, and plough up
the bed before they have half finished it. Promptness in the first
hoeing and weeding is exceedingly important in the management of all
root crops, and it is where the greatest mistake is apt to be made in
their cultivation.
[Illustration: SLIDE HOE.]
[Illustration: WHEEL HOE.]
[Illustration: McGEE CULTIVATOR.]
[Illustration: MICHIGAN SEED SOWER.]
[Illustration: LANG’S HAND WEEDER.]
There are a few implements that are specially needed in the
cultivation of root crops, and of these, every wise farmer will get
the very best attainable. These implements are the Seed Sower, the
Hand Weeder, the Slide Hoe, the common Wheel Hoe, and one for weeding
both sides of a row at the same time. Of these there are a great
many varieties, each of which are more or less popular among a class
of growers. The engravings illustrate such as are in use in my own
section of country, where root culture forms a very important part
of the agriculture of farmers. Both the slide and the wheel hoe, for
rapid work, far surpass the common hand hoe, while they cut up the
weeds equally clear. The double wheel hoe is used until the tops
of the crops become so large as to be in the way, when the single
wheel hoe or slide hoe takes its place. Fuller’s Unique Hoe having a
single wheel is preferred, to any double wheeled implement by many
gardeners, especially so by reason of its stiffness. Each should be
two inches narrower than the space between the rows. A slide hoe is
an amazing handy implement about a farm for many uses other than
between the rows of root crops. A new class of implements have been
introduced within a few years which, to a degree, supersede the use
of the common wheel or slide hoe, though there is yet a valuable
sphere for each of them; I refer to the weeders which cut each side
of the row at the same time. I have tested every variety of these and
have found nothing now in the market superior to the McGee Garden
Cultivator. These hoes which take each side of the row at once cannot
safely be made to go over the ground as fast as those designed for
use between the rows, but working close home to the growing crop,
they save a large portion of the cost of hard weeding. Of seed drills
there are a dozen or more in the market, several of which I have
used on my farms. I prefer the Michigan over all others. Among other
advantages it can be relied upon to drop almost any variety of small
seed, while it is a good coverer and having a roller attached, it
packs the earth over the seed, which, as every farmer knows, tends
to keep the moisture in and thus hastens their germination. The hand
weeder is an excellent little implement to facilitate the laborious
work of weeding, especially when the surface is baked and therefore
rather hard on the fingers.