198 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



Country gardeners, as a rule, do not know much about the best 

 table carrots. They supply their tables and their stock too often 

 from the same sowing when much sweeter and tenderer roots should 

 be grown in the garden by small sowings of the improved table 

 varieties. Those which are most grown in California are the fol- 

 lowing : 



Early French forcing carrot : very early, small and fine flavor. 



Ox-heart or Guerande : very short, almost cup-shaped, very rapid grower, 

 early and excellent. 



Half Long Danvers : a popular market variety, strong grower and suc- 

 ceeding on a wide range of soils; rich color and good flavor. 



Improved Long Orange : smoother and more uniform than the old sort ; 

 also better flavor and color. 



Chantenay: short and sturdy, bright orange-scarlet, early. 



Improved Short White: best of the whites, short and cylindrical. 



Red St. Valery: one of the best of the medium long varieties. 



Early Scarlet or Short Horn : largely grown and of good quality. 



THE PARSNIP. 



Parsnips are not largely grown in California. Two considera- 

 tions may be involved in an explanation of this fact : one is that our 

 winter supply of fresher vegetables relieves us from dependence 

 upon root-boiling, which is the staple resource of so many dwellers 

 in cold climates; another is, that the parsnip, if sown early, is not 

 always content to remain dormant and crisp for months as it does 

 beneath the snow. It quickly responds to our winter warmth and 

 moisture and starts second growth, which renders the root woody 

 and flavorless. It is quite possible for parsnip lovers in warm, moist 

 regions to overcome this by mid-summer sowing or it can be pre- 

 vented in other places by digging the roots and storing them in boxes 

 or barrels of sand in a dry, cool place, and it really should be urged 

 that this be done more widely, because those who are not fitted by 

 location or inclination to start fall growth of vegetables for winter 

 eating, should have a good supply of parsnips, which are, to most 

 tastes, delicious. It is not to be expected in this climate that the 

 parsnip will be called upon to render the important service that it 

 does in the east whenever the snow uncovers the ground in the 

 winter or spring, because at that very time we have abundance of 

 fresh vegetables hardy in our climate. 



