76 GARDENING 



The soil should be rich, deep, and loamy. An 

 important point is that the soil should be deep, so 

 that the root can strike down to its fullest extent, 

 or otherwise the long, straight roots cannot grow 

 properly. 



For sowing, the ground should be deeply tilled 

 in autumn and left rough during winter, and in 

 March the ground should be levelled, and then 

 trenched to a depth of about three feet. Plenty of 

 rather rough littery manure should be worked in at 

 the bottom of the trenches, but the surface soil 

 must not contain anything of a rank or coarse 

 description. Burnt earth and rubbish, leaf mould, 

 and old rotten hotbed manure are the most suitable 

 dressing for the surface. The seed should be sown 

 about the middle of March unless the ground is 

 wet and cold, as those circumstances would be fatal 

 to it. The drills should be shallow and eighteen 

 inches apart ; cover lightly and finish with the 

 rake. As soon as the plants are large enough, 

 they must be thinned out to ten or twelve inches 

 apart, or a little more if very large roots are required. 



The ground should be kept very clean, and 

 constantly looked over to remove all seedlings that 

 may start afresh, and frequently hoed, and all weeds 

 must be removed. The roots do not attain 

 maturity till October, which is known by the decay 

 of the leaves. If necessary, a little nitrate of soda 

 sprinkled between the rows just before a shower 

 greatly stimulates the crop. 



Parsnips will keep in good condition if left in 

 the ground and used as wanted, instead of storing 

 them. They must, however, be all out of the 

 ground before growth recommences in the spring, 

 otherwise they will vegetate. 



