VEGETABLES 75 



needed, well trenched and manured. The best 

 time for sowing it is at the end of February, and 

 then in March, June, and July. The ground should 

 be tolerably dry, and, as the seed is very small, it 

 should be drilled shallowly in a fine seed bed, and 

 the seed covered with three-quarters of an inch of 

 fine mould, and then top-dress with soot as soon as 

 the plants show through the surface. 



Parsley will stand a moderate degree of frost, 

 but sharp ones cut it down ; therefore it should be 

 covered with litter during the winter. 



For winter it is always desirable to place hand 

 glasses over portions of it during the winter, or 

 potting up bundles of the roots and place them into 

 gentle warmth. 



Soot is an excellent manure for it and preserves 

 it from root-canker, the only disease which affects 

 it. The plants do not seed till they are two years 

 old. There are three kinds of parsley- — the com- 

 mon plain-leaved, the curly-leaved, and the fern- 

 leaved. The latter is a distinct foliage, and used 

 for garnishing. 



The best kinds to plant are Sutton's Imperial 

 Curled, Sutton's Emerald Gem, and Fern Leaved. 



PARSNIPS 



The parsnip is a very nutritious root. It con- 

 tains three times more flesh-forming and strength- 

 giving qualities than the potato, and only half the 

 quantity of starch. 



The parsnip is a hardy biennial plant, a native 

 of England, and is almost frost-proof except in 

 very damp or heavy soils. 



