Early Spring Vegetables 



PAESNIPS 



May be classed among the early spring veg- 

 etables as they are planted as early as the ground 

 can be worked m spring and are likewise ready 

 for use as soon as the frost is out of the ground 

 so that they may be dug; like all root vegetables 

 thej'- require rich, deeply dug or ploughed land. 

 Not less than twelve inches in depth is required 

 for successful cultivation; with shallow cultiva- 

 tion crooked and many branched roots are pro- 

 duced which are unsalable and of little value for 

 home consumption. The long, smooth, beauti- 

 fully white roots — two inches or more at the 

 crown, are only produced in well-prepared soil. 



Parsnips are planted directly in the open 

 gi'ound as soon as the ground can be worked in 

 spring, sowing the seed in drills an inch and a 

 quarter deep, covering and tramping down the 

 rows if the weather is dry. They should be 

 thinned to stand from four to six inches apart in 

 the row that the roots may make perfect devel- 

 opment. The rows should be eighteen inches 



109 



