AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



305 



PAR 



or sauce presented at the table without it. 

 The ancients supposed it absorbed the inebri- 

 ating fumes of wine, and by that means pre- 

 vented intoxication. Of the several varieties, 

 the double curled-leaved is preferred for use, 

 as being more ornamental than the common 

 sort, of which it is nothing more than a 

 variety, obtained and continued by careful 

 selection. We have ourselves gathered, for 

 botanical specimens, plants of Parsley from 

 the ruined walls of Craigmiller and Crichton 

 Castles, near Edinburgh, evidently the origi- 

 nal species, as the leaves were perfectly plain, 

 having no trace of the curl that makes it now 

 so attractive for ga,rnishing, showing that the 

 warrior lords of these ancient battlements 

 had not troubled themselves to make any 

 advance in the ornamental qualities of this 

 vegetable. Parsley is now grown in immense 

 quantities for spring and winter use, usually 

 in cold frames, where it is sown in February 

 or March, at the time the Lettuce is planted. 

 It is sown between the rows of Lettuce, 

 which is planted six inches apart. As the 

 seed is slow to germinate, and grows slowly 

 at that season of the year, the Lettuce crop 

 is out off before the Parsley gets large enough 

 to be injured. It develops so as to cover the 

 ground usually about June 1st, and is then 

 cut off and marketed. It soon starts to grow, 

 but is usually of little value until the late fall 

 months. To get a late fall crop, it is cut off 

 and thrown away by about September 15th, 

 which gives a full and heavy crop of leaves 

 by November. It is then covered with sashes, 

 which are raised up for ventilation in mild 

 weather; and thus retarded, a full crop is 

 easily obtained for the holidays, when it is in 

 its greatest demand. Another plan is to sow 

 Parsley in shallow boxes, say four inches 

 deep, made of such width and length as will 

 fit in under the front bench of the green- 

 house stage ; far enough under to get a fair 

 proportion of light, say from fifteen to twenty 

 inches. In this position it will grow finely, 

 and, with a liberal use of liquid manure, can 

 be cut four or five times during the winter in 

 any green-house averaging 65°. For this pur- 

 pose the seed can be sown in the boxes as late 

 as August. 



Hamburg or Turnip-rooted Parsley is a 

 variety grown only for the use of its fleshy 

 roots, which are cooked and eaten like Pars- 

 nips. The roots may be stored in winter 

 until required for use. 



Neapolitan or Celery-leaved Parsley is 

 sometimes grown for the use of the leaf- 

 stalks, which are blanched, and eaten like 

 those of Celery. 

 Parsley Fern. See Allosorus. 



Parsnip. PeMxdanum sativum (syn. PastimcuM). 

 The common garden Parsnip is a hardy bien- 

 nial, a native of Great Britain and the south 

 of Europe. It has also become naturalized 



. to a considerable extent in the United States. 

 The leaves of the wild kind are hairy and dark 

 green ; in the cultivated Parsnip, smooth, and 

 of a light, yellowish green. The Parsnip has 

 long been cultivated as an Esculent root. 

 According to Pliny, they were held in such 

 repute by the Emperor Tiberius that he had 



: them annually brought to Rome from the 

 banks of the Rhine, where they were then 

 successfully cultivated. A deep,- rich, loamy 



PAS 



soil, free from stones, is requisite for the 

 favorable growth of the Parsnip ; but when 

 grown upon poor land, it loses much of the 

 rank flavor which it acquires if cultivated in 

 rich soils, and though not nearly so abun- 

 dant, is far more sweet and agreeable. Pars- 

 nip seed is almost useless at two years old, 

 and fresh seed is even slow of germination, 

 and is one of the seeds which should always 

 be trodd(»n in with the feet or flrmly rolled 

 after sowing. Sow in drills three inches deep 

 and twelve inches apart. In England the 

 roots are used to make a domestic wine. 



Parso'nsia. In memory of James Parsons, 

 M.D., a Scotch botanist. Nat. Ord. Apoey- 

 nacecB. 



A genus of twining shrubs, natives of Aus- 

 tralia, New Zealand, and tropical Asia. P. 

 albijlora bears its fragrant white flowers in 

 many-flowered panicles. But few of the spe- 

 cies are in cultivation. 



Parterre. A French term used to denote a 

 small enclosure or flower-garden, laid out in 

 different sizes and shapes. 



Partial. Secondary ; partial petiole, a division 

 of a main leaf-stalk, or the stalk of a leaflet ; 

 partial peduncle, a branch of a peduncle, etc. 



Partite. Divided into a number of segments, 

 which extend almost as far as the base of the 

 part to which they belong, as Tripartite, 

 three-parted ; Quadripartite, four-parted, etc. 



Partridge Berry. See Gaultheria and Mitchella. 



Partridge Pea. See Cassia chamcBcrista. 



Partridge 'Wood. The wood of certain South 

 American and West Indian trees, one of 

 which is Andira inermis. 



Paspalum. From paspalos, one of the Greek 

 names for Millet. Nat. Ord. Graminacece. 



P. dilitatum (syn. P. ovatum) aud P. plaiy- 

 caule, sometimes called Louisiana Grass, 

 natives of Virginia and southward, are men- 

 tioned in Dr. George Vasey's report to the 

 Department of Agriculture, 1887, as valuable 

 forage grasses for the South; especially P. 

 dHatatum, " which has very strong roots, and 

 grows in the longest drought almost as fast 

 as when it rains." 



Pasque Flower. See Anemone pulsatiUa. 



Passerl'na. From passer, a sparrow, in allusion 

 to the beaked seeds. Nat. Ord. Thymelacea. 



A genus of heath-like shrubs, natives for 

 the most part of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 Several species are in cultivation. P. tinctoria 

 is employed in dying wood yellow. Cuttings 

 of the young wood root freely in sand. 



Passiflo'ra. Passion Flower. From passio, suf- 

 fering, and ^8, a flower ; referring to the fila- 

 ments, or rays, and other parts, being likened 

 to the circumstances of Christ's crucifixion. 

 Nat. Ord. Passijloracem. 



An extensive genus of hardy, half-hardy, 

 and green-house climbers, mostly natives of 

 tropical America, a few only being indigenous 

 to Asia. The name was applied from the 

 resemblance afforded by the parts of the plant 

 to the instruments of our Lord's Passion and 

 its attendant circumstances : thus the three 

 nails — two for the hands and one for the feet 

 — are represented by the stigmas ; the five 

 anthers indicate the five wounds ; the rays of 

 glory, or, as some say, the crown of thorns,- 

 are represented by the rays of the "corona;" 



