262 GARDENING OVER A WINTER FIRE. 



To a limited extent I have found parsnips 

 and salsify or oyster plant profitable crops. 

 The earlier the seed is sown after the frost is 

 out of the ground, the better ; the salsify 

 in rows one foot apart, and plants three inches 

 in the row ; parsnips in rows fifteen inches 

 apart, and thinned out so as to stand four inches 

 from each other. The soil where they are grown 

 should be made rich and deep, and good clean 

 cultivation will insure a large crop. In No- 

 vember, what are needed for winter can be dug, 

 put in barrels, and covered with damp earth, to 

 keep them from wilting ; then stored in a cool 

 cellar. But the majority of the roots can be 

 left in the open ground till spring, for freezing 

 does them good. As soon as frost is out, they 

 can be dug as required ; and as vegetables 

 are so scarce in March and April, they- 

 usually find a ready sale. In the spring of 

 '71 I had three and a quarter bushels of 



