ON 



THE COMPOSITION 



OF THE 



PARSNIP AND WHITE BELGIAN CARROT. 



THE parsnip has been analysed by Crome and the carrot by 

 Hermbstadt. Both analyses, however, having been made at a 

 time when the analytical processes with which chemists were 

 acquainted were little calculated for giving accurate results, 

 are necessarily very imperfect. They do not convey, there- 

 fore, a correct idea of the true composition of these roots. 



The cultivation of both, especially that of the carrot, is gain- 

 ing ground from year to year. It appeared to me, therefore, 

 desirable to replace the former imperfect analyses by others, 

 in which advantage has been taken of the more refined and 

 accurate methods of investigation with which modern chemistry 

 has made us acquainted. 



The parsnips and carrots analysed were grown on the farm 

 attached to the Royal Agricultural College, in the calcareous, 

 rather stony, and by no means deep soil. 



Carrots, as well as parsnips, succeed best in a deep, well-pul- 

 verized, loamy ground, but in a shallow, stony soil they scarcely 

 reach half the size as when grown on a deep and sufficiently 

 porous loam. 



The soil in the neighbourhood of Cirencester on the whole is 

 not favourable to the growth of these roots, it being, in most 

 instances, too stony and too shallow. The roots for this reason 

 remain comparatively small, and 18 tons per acre are deemed a 

 good average crop of carrots in this part of the country. 



Before stating the results of the analysis of parsnips and 

 carrots, I shall briefly describe the method which I followed in 

 determining the various constituents entering into the CQmposition 

 of both roots. 



1. Determination of Water and Ash. The quantities of water 

 and ash in the parsnip and carrot were determined by drying a 



A2 



