Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-09
Agricultural.
A Nov Mssa...,he yy,Ia carrot.

While, in general, the same species of
plants that existed centuries ago are still
found under nearly the same conditions, there
seems to be a change in the circumstances Of
the growth and in the character Of not few
species that may be observed within the life
time of an individual. In cultivated plants
these changes are more apparent, but we have
evidence that they are taking place with
wild plants by the slower process of Nature
unaided. As the fossils of thousands of ex-
tinct plants are found, it is reasonable to sup
pose that new species were developed to re-
place the old and the causes that produced
the extinction of one and the development of
another to take its place, may be still in OPP
Grafton. If new species are not developed
within our knowledge, we know that those
that were once plenty become rare, and those
that were hardly known, except to the natur-
alist become abundant. Thus the wild car
rot troublesome weed that is new, at least
to this part of the country, is spreading with
great rapidity. A few plants of wild carrot
appeared, three or four years ago, in small
enclosure containing an acre and half be-
longing TO a neighbor. part of the field
has been cultivated and a part has been in
grass, but both the cultivated part and the
part that has been in moving and was mown
in June last, is now covered with wild carrots
growing SO thickly that when in blossom, in
the latter part of August, the lot looked at q
little distance like buckwheat field in bloom.
From this piece the weed is spreading into
adjoining fields in every direction. The
IF ba ft,1 YN1o MI haar
numerous umbels and each umbel produces
from one hundred to thousand seeds, which
in some way get widely possibly
by birds, or perhaps the umbels that adhere
to the branching stems above the snow in
winter, may be broken off and driven by the
wind on a smooth crust to a considerable dis
lance. Within the past few years the wild
carrot has been spreading so extensively that
it has become the subject of legislative enact
ment providing for its destruction in at least
one Connecticut. 1t is probably not
yet disseminated over the greater part of this
state and if the danger of its overrunning
any locality whore it is suffered to get start
is understood before its appearance, it may
be prevented from becoming a very great
nuisance. We have seen it in several places
in Windham county, but believe that it is not
yet common in most of the towns and it
should never be permitted to become So
The wild carrot has been described by bot
anists as variety of the common garden car.
rot DaucuS cdrOtd. lift is the common gar
den carrot run Wild it is a good illustration
of the change in the character of plants to
| which allusion has been made. The points
of difference between the wild carrot and the
common garden carrot seem to be as great as
between many plants of the same genus that
are classed as distinct species The root of
the wild carrot hardly resembles the root of
the garden carrot. 1t is very branching and
penetrates the soil deeply, resembling the
root of red clover more than that of its own
species in the garden. 1t has hard woody
pith unlike the garden carrot. One more
equal remove would convert the wild carrot
into distinst species, or perhaps revert it to
the original species from which the domestic
carrot has been developed. The carrot is a
biennial plant, and, therefore, as a weed, it
would be eradicated if no seed was permitted
to mature for two years, unless the seed of q
previous year should spring up after having
remained dormant in the ground for one or
more years.