290 The Principles of Vegetable -Gardening 



horse tillage, and the young plants are thinned to stand about 

 6 to 8 inches apart in the row. Subsequent treatment consists 

 only in keeping the land well tilled and free from weeds. There 

 are no serious pests. One ounce of fresh seed is used to 200-250 

 feet of drill; 4-6 Ibs. is generally used to the acre. A good crop 

 is 500-600 bushels to the acre, but more than this is secured under 

 the best conditions. 



The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is one of the Umbelliferse fam- 

 ily, and is allied to carrot, celery and parsley. It is a native of 

 the Old World. It is biennial. The flower- stalks arise from the 

 roots that were produced the year before. In some cases, when 

 the season is dry and long, roots may send up flower-stalks the 

 very year in which they grow. The parsnip has run wild as a 

 weed in old fields. It is then a biennial. It is not a serious 

 weed in well tilled lands, and this fact suggests the proper treat- 

 ment if it should becpme a nuisance. The strong flower- stalks of 

 the parsnip are said to be slightly poisonous by contact to some 

 persons. 



Goff (2d Rept. N. Y. State Exp. Sta., p. 180, and 4th Kept., p. 

 139), reduced the varieties of parsnips to 3. In 1889 (Annals Hort. ) 

 American dealers offered 15 named varieties. The Hollow Crown 

 and Student parsnips are the standard varieties. For an account 

 of the experimental origin of the Student parsnip, see Buckman, 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, 1862, p. 721. For a history of the parsnip, 

 consult Sturtevant, Amer. Nat., Jan., 1890, pp. 46-48. 



"In the parsnip the tap-root is very long, and tapers very 

 slowly after the first few inches in depth. In a plant of the Long 

 Hollow Crown variety, examined September 17, we traced the tap- 

 root downward a distance of 30 inches, beyond which it was too 

 delicate to follow. Branches leave the tap-root throughout its 

 length, many starting out below the clay line. One of these, at a 

 depth of 2 feet, we followed a distance of 7 inches through very 

 stiff clay. The fibrous roots in the upper layers of the soil are 

 numerous, -but short, the longest ones appearing to extend but 

 about 14 inches from the main root. Considering the proportion 

 of the roots that lie deep in the soil, the parsnip is a deep-rooting 

 plant." Goff, 3d Rept. N. T. State Exp. Sta., p. 311. 



