8 THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 



lover of this, to some, favourite root. In size it is 

 scarcely large enough for a field crop, but though 

 not at present recommended for the farm, its history 

 may well serve to explain the origin of crop plants, 

 as derived from the cultivation and improvement of 

 wild species.* 



* It may here be noted that the Student parsnip took the first 

 prize for this root at the International Show at the Horticultural 

 Society's Gardens in 1862. 



