Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1866-03-30
An Experiment with Carrots.

Mr.. FL. Blackman of Sharon, Mass,
writes to the Country Gentleman as
follows:
Last year | had a piece of about
two acres under cultivation, which had
been broken up the previous year
the lower part of which bordering up
on pond, was planted with potatoes.
The soil is rich, but heavy and very
strong at the bottom. 1t is such a
piece of land as a person would natu-
rally select for cabbages.
The year broke up the land it was
so wet | could not plant it till very
late in the season. Upon this low
piece of land | determined last year
to SOW carrots, as an experiment. |
measured off one-sixth Of an acre
alongside of the pond, and spread on
seven horse loads of fine barlyc I'd
manure, and plowed it in about the
middle of April, the horse slumping in,
at one end of the piece, six TO eight
inches at every step. | let it stand
two or three days; then narrowed it
thoroughly. then ridged it up, turn
ing the ridges as near together as the
pillow would admit. Upon these ridges
Sowed seed ofmy own raising, thickly,
with one OF Horace Emery's seed SOW
crs, and waited patiently for the re-
suit. The carrots started very readi-
ly and handsomely, but the weeds
outgrew them. and had to fight them
hard. The woodchucks eat the car
rots off almost as fast as they came
up, and dry weather came on, and the
plants being very tender on account
OF the moisture of the soil, many of
them burned off near the ground. and
it seemed for a while that the dry
weather and woodchucks would en-
llrcly destroy them. ButIpersevcred
in pulling weeds and catching wood
chucks till slight shower gave the
carrots a fresh start, and they went
ahead finely. 1t now became noes
sary to thin them out, and | asked a
neighbor, who had raised carrots, how
far apart the plants ought to be left to
thrive we'll? He held down his hand
and spread his fingers apart, as far
as he conveniently could, and said,
about so far apart" | did not agree
with him, and thinned them out to
eight inches apart. | weeded them
three times and hoed between the
ridges four times, when left them to
take care of themselves. Another
ncighbor. who had experience in rails
ing carrots in this way came along
when | was wedding, and said, you
will not have any carrots there; they
wont grow in such soil as that, and
should think you would have known
better than to SOW them III such a
place" But | said wait and see. -
llet them remain in the ground till
late in November when | commenced
digging; and such carrots no one III
my neighborhood ever saw. They
were all large. the largest being four
or five inches irdiametcr and some
twenty-five inches in length, and weigh.
ing from four to five pounds EACH
Fourteen of the largest packed closely
into a bushel basket, filled it heaping
full. The result of the crop upon one
sixth of an acre, was one hundred and
fifty pounds each, or seven thousand
five hundred pOunds-being three tons
and three-quarterS, or twenty-five tons
and one-halfto the acre. The result
would have been larger still, had the
land not been stony at the bottom,
which made it very difficult digging,
in consequence of viii h several
bushels were left broken off in the
ground.
One of my neighbors had at the
same time about one-quarter of an
acre of light sandy soil in carrots,
about three or four inches apart, not
ridged, and yield of seventy bushels.
From these results | arrive at the con-
cluslOn that carrots required moisture.
freedom from weeds and plenty of
room.