Sow in rows one foot apart, and thin to four inches in the rows.
Flander's Large Pale Scarlet. Vil.
Flander's Pale Red.
Root produced within the earth, fourteen or fifteen inches long, three or four inches in diameter at the broadest part, fusiform, not very symmetrical, but often quite crooked and angular. The crown is flat, very large, and nearly covered by the insertion of the leaves. Flesh reddish-yellow, and rather coarse-grained. Foliage large and vigorous.
The roots are formed early and with great certainty. It is also very productive, of large size, keeps remarkably well; and, though of coarse texture, one of the best sorts for cultivation for farm-purposes.
It originated in Flanders, and is comparatively an old variety, but is little disseminated, and not grown to any extent, in this country.
Long Orange.
Root long, thickest at or near the crown, and tapering regularly to a point. Size very variable, being much affected by soil, season, and cultivation: well-grown specimens measure fifteen inches in length, and three inches in diameter at the crown. Skin smooth, of a reddish-orange color. Flesh comparatively close-grained, succulent, and tender, of a light-reddish vermilion or orange color, the heart lighter, and large in proportion to the size of the root. Foliage not abundant, but healthy and vigorous, and collected into a comparatively small neck. The roots are usually produced entirely within the earth.
If pulled while very young and small, they are mild, fine-grained, and good for table use; but, when full grown, the texture is coarser, and the flavor stronger and less agreeable.
The Long Orange is more cultivated in this country for agricultural purposes than all other varieties. With respect to its value for stock, its great productiveness, and its keeping properties, it is considered the best of all the sorts for field culture. A well-enriched soil will yield from six hundred to eight hundred bushels per acre. The seed is usually sown in drills, about fourteen inches apart, but sometimes on ridges, eighteen or twenty inches apart, formed by turning two furrows together; the ridges yielding the largest roots, and the drills the greatest quantity.