t7S On the CzittureyoJ Parsnips) 



ploved twenty-eight clays e^icll in weeding about five vergccs* 

 j tried a few perches with tiic hHnd-h<'»e, and thinned them 

 like turnips; they proved finer than those which were 

 hand- weeded. Jn/Guernsey they iTfiake use of tlic spade for 

 that purpose.' . . 



In the beginning of September the beans are pulled up 

 from cimong the parsnips^ and about the latter end the 

 dirra^my; begins. The instrument used is the common three- 

 pronged fork; Tliis work is d.^ne gradually as ihe cattle 

 want them, till the p;round ^requires to be cleared for sow- 

 in^: wheat, which after parsnips is generally done about the 

 mTddlc of December. They are reckoned an excellent fal- 

 low for that kind of grain, and the finest crops are generally 

 those which succeed them : as itis a tap-rooted plant, it 

 does not, like the potatoe, impoverish the surface, but 

 leaves it mellow and free from weeds, to a succeeding crop. 

 . When parsnips require to be kept for -the use of cattle, 

 they are brought dry under sheds, and villkt*ep good with-' 

 out any care till the end of March. Should they require 

 to be kept longer, they are laid in double rows over one 

 another, their heads outward, with alternate strata of earth, 

 whi-ch, when finished, have the appearance of small walls, 

 or, if made circular, of rsmall towers. Those for seed are al- 

 ways preserved in this manner, and sometimes carrots and 

 beets tor culinary purposes. 



Parsnips are not injured by frost ; after having been fro- 

 zen, they are fit for vegetation : the only sensible alteration- 

 is their acquiring a sweeter taste, and by that perhaps be- 

 comin£^ more nutritive. They are given raw to hogs and to 

 horned cattle. Though horses are fond of these roots, they 

 are not suffered to eat them, as they make them languid, 

 and are apt to injure their sight. Their leaves when wet are 

 so caustic as to blister the hands of the weeders, and some- 

 times to occasion a violent inflammation in the eyes and 

 udders of the cattle feeding upon them. 



Cows fed on parsnips in the v^inter months, give a greater 

 qua.ntity of milk and butter, and of better flavour, than 

 those fed upon potatoes. Th'.- butter is nearly equal to that 

 from sprino' grass. Though the root of this plant has the 

 quality of iliiproving that article, it must be observed, that 

 the leaves give it a very disagreeable taste, which^ however, 

 is of no consequence when intended to be potted, as it goes 

 ofl'in a short tmie. 



Parsnips are dangerous food for sows before they farrow, 

 and might occasion them to hise their litter. liogs may be 

 fattened with them in about six weeks. It is the custom 



during 



