COMMON GARDEN PLANTS 125 



willing to give up. In this the parsnip shows its 

 retention of the habit of its wild ancestor. The 

 carrot also is not altogether free from its wild 

 instincts, and will pretty readily revert to the 

 wild state. 



I have experimented with the wild carrot, 

 which has a long, hard, slender root, and found 

 that this could be brought back to the production 

 of what might be called a civilized root. 



Color may be added to the carrot root or taken 

 away from it by selection through successive 

 generations. 



This is quite what we might expect when we 

 consider the difference in color between the roots 

 of the carrot and the parsnip, which in their wild 

 forms are very closely related. 



There is opportunity for some one to under- 

 take the improvement of both parsnip and carrot 

 as to the quality and shape of their roots, and 

 such experiments might very likely prove suc- 

 cessful if carried out persistently, notwithstand- 

 ing my own failure to produce marked modifica- 

 tions in this regard. The flavor of the carrot 

 could be improved, probably without any great 



difficulty. 



Salsify or Oyster Plant 



There is another root that offers a challenge to 

 the plant developer somewhat as do the parsnip 



