PARSNIP. 219 



any other. It is made with little expense or trouble, 

 and only requires a few years to make it as agree- 

 able to the palate as it is wholesome to the body ; 

 yet fashion induces us to give pounds for foreign 

 wines, when we can obtain excellent of our own 

 country for as many shillings. 



Parsnips, exclusive of their well-known use with 

 saltfish and salted meats, form what may be called 

 an elegant side dish at table ; when, after being 

 boiled (not too soft), they are dipped in thin batter 

 of flour and butter or the white of eggs, and after- 

 wards fried brown ; such a dish has been highly 

 approved of at the first tables. Both the French 

 and Dutch cooks make a very agreeable soup of 

 them. 



The parsnip is a profitable and desirable root for 

 a family in winter and spring, being wholesome and 

 nourishing, and it should be cultivated abundantly 

 in every kitchen-garden, not only for domestic 

 use, but as a profitable esculent to the market- 

 gardener and cottager. The latter will find it not 

 only a useful vegetable for his family, but will also 

 be a considerable gainer should he cultivate it 

 partially with a view to profit. It has long been 

 found excellent for the purposes above mentioned 

 from October till May. 



Such, then, is the parsnip, as a horticultural 

 vegetable ; for an agricultural purpose it has first- 

 rate properties* Cows fed freely on parsnip roots 

 will yield an abundance of milk of a rich quality. 

 In Germany parsnips are sown for this express pur- 

 pose ; and sheep, when lambing, if fed with them, 

 will produce much milk, to the benefit of the lambs* 



