PARSNIPs. 189 
rows, and covered very lightly, say not more than half an 
inch deep. To scparate the seeds, which are apt to stick 
together, let them be rubbed between the hands in dry sand 
or earth. When the plants are up, they may be thinned 
with a narrow hoe, or otherwise, so as to be left from three 
to four inches apart, and if intended to remain long in the 
ground, they may be left six inches apart. The usual time 
for sowing the main crop in the United States is from the 
first of May to the first of June. 
The Parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is now less cultivated in 
England than it was in Catholic times, when it was a favor- 
ite accompaniment to dried fish in Lent. To some its fla- 
vor is not agreeable; but is a very nutritious vegetable, 
and of easy digestion. Like the carrot, its root is long 
and tapering, differing chiefly in being of a whitish color. 
Its culture is also very much the same. There is a variety 
with short roundish roots, called the Turnip-rooted Pars- 
nip, very well suited for garden culture. 
The parsnip is a sweet and wholesome vegetable, more 
generally relished and eaten at American tables than the 
carrot. They are also sometimes made into a marmalade, 
and are even said to be capable of yielding a good wine. 
They constitute an admirable food for horses, mixed of 
course with dry food, and when given to cows add greatly 
to the quantity and good quality of the milky products, to 
which they impart no unpleasant flavor, such as is found to 
follow the use of the turnip, cabbage, &c. The varieties 
best known in the Middle States are the Guernesey, and 
the Sugar or Hollow Crown, the first being best adapted 
for large crops in fields, and the latter for gardens. They 
may be sown in the spring from March to May, in drills, 
and covered about an inch deep. Thin to eight inehes 
