136 GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES 



parsnips, the large varieties should be passed over in 

 favour of the medium varieties by the average grower. 

 Blood Red, DeWs Crimson, and Egyptian Turnip-rooted 

 may be recommended. 



The seeds must not be sown too early at the end of 

 April or the beginning of May will be quite soon enough. 

 Place them two inches down in threes, as suggested for 

 parsnips, in drills fifteen inches apart. When thinned, 

 the young seedlings should stand with nine inches 

 separating them. Some gardeners transplant the seed- 

 lings, but though we have seen satisfactory crops pro- 

 duced in this way, it is not a practice which we can 

 endorse as the slightest injury to the roots is more or less 

 fatal. 



Beetroots require a little more coaxing than carrots 

 and parsnips, so it may be necessary to assist growth 

 by means of some artificial manure. If such is deemed 

 necessary, superphosphate and steamed bone flour, 

 mixed, may be applied at the rate of one ounce to 

 the square yard, immediately prior to sowing, and 

 sulphate of ammonia (half an ounce to the square 

 yard) is useful when thinning out. These artificials 

 may be applied to carrots and parsnips, also, if the 

 ground is not considered sufficiently fertile. Where 

 the soil does not contain a moderate supply of moisture, 

 beetroots appreciate the application of salt before sowing. 

 (One ounce to the square yard.) Seaweed serves the 

 same purpose. 



Birds are very fond of the young leaves of the beet, and 

 sometimes they strip the tender plants of all but the mid- 

 ribs. This, of course, arrests proper growth, but it will 

 be easy to check these depredations by running threads 



