RHUBARB SALSIFY. 83 



way. Prices paid to growers for roots rule from fifty to 

 sixty cents per dozen; for seed, forty to fifty cents per 

 pound. 



SALSIFY. 



Cultivation is similar to parsnip, seed being produced 

 in the second year. Salsify succeeds best in a light, 

 rich, mellow soil. It is extremely hardy and roots 

 remain in the field over winter. In spring they should 

 be taken up and sorted and the handsomest specimens 

 replanted same distance apart as for parsnip. If stock 

 seed has been produced in this way, the roots for a 

 commercial seed crop may be allowed to go to seed 

 where they stand without removal in spring. Different 

 varieties should not be allowed to seed near each other. 



The seed head resembles that of dandelion, although 

 it is much larger. In harvesting, seed heads are usually 

 hand-picked, and as they ripen unevenly, the field 

 should be gone over twice a day when they are open- 

 ing. They are gathered and dried on sheets. After 

 being kept spread out for a while in the barn or drying 

 house till they have become thoroughly dry, they may 

 be threshed in a machine or with a roller, after which 

 seed is cleaned by running through a fan mill. It 

 should not be stored until it is perfectly dry. 



Market. Upwards of 75,000 pounds of salsify seed 

 are handled annually by the seed trade in this country; 

 most of it is produced in Central California, where a 

 yield in a favorable season is about 500 pounds per 

 acre, sometimes running to 1,000 pounds. Prices 

 usually paid to growers are thirty to thirty-five cents 

 per pound. 



It is a crop that can easily be grown most anywhere 

 in the United States. 



