192 



Root Crops 



Fruits ("seeds") of parsnip 

 (X2). 



are stored in the same way as beets and turnips — in bins 



in the cellar, and in pits. 



The roots may be harvested in autumn and stored in the 



cellar or in pits, or they may 

 be left in the ground until 

 spring. The hard freezing of 

 winter does not injure them. 

 In fact, many persons think 

 that the quality of the roots 

 is improved by freezing. This 

 notion is probably unfounded, 



for if the roots are not allowed to shrivel in winter, their 



quality is as apparently good as when allowed to remain in 



the ground. If one 



is growing parsnips 



for the market, it 



is important that at 



least a large part of 



the crop be stored 



for the winter, for the highest prices are usually obtained 



before the roots can be dug from the field in spring. 

 There are few varieties of parsnip. Hollow-crown and 



Student (or Guernsey) are best known. Seeds and young 



plants are seen in Pigs. 99, 100, 



Young plants or seedlings of parsnip (X %). 



The Parsnip Plant 



Pastinaca. VmhelUfercE. A dozen or so European and 

 Asian species, biennial and perennial. 



P. sativa, Linn. Sp. PI. 262. CuLTrvATED Parsnip. Tall 

 stout mostly glabrous strong-scented biennial (rarely annual) : 

 taproot single and enlarged, to form the parsnip of gardens : 

 leaves long and rather narrow, odd-pinnately compound, long- 



