88 ESCULENT KOOTS. 



Thin the young plants to five inches distant in the rows ; 

 and, during the summer, treat the growing crop as parsnips 

 or carrots. 



U S Q. It is cultivated exclusively for its roots, which are 

 usually taken up in September or October, and served at 

 table, and preserved during the winter, in the same manner 

 as the Salsify, or Oyster-plant. They have a pleasant, deli- 

 cate flavor ; and are considered to be not only healthful, but 

 remarkably nutritious. 



SCORZONERA. 



Black Oyster-plant. Black Salsify. Scorzonera Hispanica. 



This is a hardy perennial plant, introduced from the south 

 of Europe, where it is indigenous. The root is tapering 

 and comparatively slender, when well developed, meas- 

 uring about a foot in length, and an inch in diameter near 

 the crown, or at the broadest part ; skin grayish-black, 

 coarse, somewhat reticulated, resembling the roots of some 

 species of trees ; flesh white ; leaves long, ovate, broadest 

 near the end, and tapering sharply to the stem. They are 

 also more or less distinctly ribbed, and have a few remote 

 teeth, or serratures, at the extremities. When in flower 

 the plant measures about four feet in height ; the stalk being 

 nearly cylindrical, slightly grooved or furrowed, smooth, and 

 branched towards the top. The flowers are large, terminal, 

 yellow ; the seeds are whitish, longer than broad, taper 

 towards the top, and retain their vitality two years. An 

 ounce contains about two thousand five hundred seeds. 



Soil and Culture. Though a perennial, it is generally 

 cultivated as an annual or biennial, in the manner of the car- 

 rot or parsnip. The seeds may be sown in April or May ; 

 but in the warmer sections of the country they should not be 



