CARROTS AND PARSNIPS 99 



If there is any clod of earth or stone in the way, it will 

 separate into several small roots and be of little value. 

 Fortunately there is a different type, the Offenham 

 Market parsnip, which will do well in the average soil. 

 The Offenham Market parsnip is shaped a good deal 

 like a boy's top. It has a heavy shoulder, being 

 frequently three inches across at the top, and Its 

 short taproot has no difficulty in developing in 

 ordinary soil. The flesh is not white Hke that of 

 the Hollow Crown variety, but of a butter color, 

 and it is heavy in sugar. Even the large specimens, 

 weighing well over a pound, develop without tough 

 cores. Easy to prepare for the table, with little 

 waste, this parsnip has everything to recommend 

 it for the small garden. Parsnips may be boiled and 

 served with butter or cream ; they may be mashed 

 like turnip ; or they may be roasted with meat in 

 the oven. 



Preparation of the Soil. — Soil for parsnips need 

 not be so very rich, as they have all the season in 

 which to grow, and it is possible to make them 

 coarse by overgrowth. The soil must, though, 

 be soft and deep, free from stones, and well turned 

 over. 



A couple of barrow-loads of dressing worked into 

 a fifty-foot row the fall previous, or eight pounds of 

 complete commercial fertilizer dug in shortly be- 

 fore planting, will be sufficient, if the soil was pre- 

 viously in good condition. 



