PARSNIPS. 189 



rows, and covered very lightly, say not more than half an 

 inch deep. To separate the seeds, which are apt to stick 

 together, let them be rubbed between the hands in dry sand 

 or earth. When the plants are up, they may be thinned 

 with a narrow hoe, or otherwise, so as to be left from three 

 to four inches apart, and if intended to remain long in the 

 ground, they may be left six inches apart. The usual time 

 for sowing the main crop in the United States is from the 

 first of May to the first of June. 



The Parsnip {Pastinaca sativa) is now less cultivated in 

 England than it was in Catholic times, when it was a favor- 

 ite accompaniment to dried fish in Lent. To some its fla- 

 vor is not agreeable ; but is a very nutritious vegetable, 

 and of easy digestion. Like the carrot, its root is long 

 and tapering, differing chiefly in being of a whitish color. 

 Its culture is also very much the same. There is a variety 

 with short roundish roots, called the Turnip-rooted Pars- 

 nip, very well suited for garden culture. 



The parsnip is a sweet and wholesome vegetable, more 

 generally relished and eaten at American tables than the 

 carrot. They are also sometimes made into a marmalade, 

 and are even said to be capable of yielding a good wine. 

 They constitute an admirable food for horses, mixed of 

 course with dry food, and when given to cows add greatly 

 to the quantity and good quality of the milky products, to 

 which they impart no unpleasant flavor, such as is found to 

 follow the use of the turnip, cabbage, &c. The varieties 

 best known in the Middle States are the Guernesey, and 

 the Sugar or Hollow Crown, the first being best adapted 

 for large crops in fields, and the latter for gardens. They 

 may be sown in the spring from March to May, in drills, 

 and covered about an inch deep. Thin to eight inches 



