CARROTS, PARSNIPS, AND BEETROOTS 135 



The Student may be recommended where medium 

 roots are desired ; other good growers are Carters 1 

 Holborn Marrow, Hollow Crown, and Improved Jersey 

 Marrow. 



The parsnip does not reach maturity until late autumn, 

 but as frosts do not injure it, in fact, their influence on 

 the roots is rather beneficial, there is no need to be 

 anxious of the harvest. It may be left in the ground 

 until required for use if a covering of straw is placed over 

 the crowns which we intend to dig up during the hard 

 weather. Where the ground is wanted for another crop 

 parsnips may be lifted and stored in the same way as 

 carrots. The chief pests which attack them are : 



(1) The Celery Fly. The larvae of this fly burrow in the 

 leaves and cause white patches to appear, which soon turn 

 brown. Spraying the young plants is the best preventive. 

 Use a mixture of paraffin, soft soap, and water at the rate 

 of a quart of the paraffin and a half pound of soap to ten 

 gallons of water. Later, the fully developed leaves should 

 be showered with the liquid. Any parts of the foliage 

 winch are brown should be burnt, and when the plants are 

 lifted it is imperative that the bruised leaves and stalks be 

 thrown on a bonfire. 



(2) The Parsnip Canker is a fungus which causes brown 

 patches to appear on the skin of the parsnip. Healthy 

 cultivation is the best preventive. A plot that has 

 harboured the canker should be well limed when vacant. 



Beetroots thrive on a light, sandy soil which was 

 well manured for a previous crop, such as potatoes. They 

 appreciate a slightly damper soil than is liked by carrots. 

 Preparatory to sowing, the ground needs deep working 

 in order that the roots may have full play. As with 



