1526 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



roots. Also, if the land is hard, the tap- 

 root cannot easily penetrate the soil to 

 any considerable depth and side-roots are 

 formed. A well-formed parsnip is one 

 with a thick, conical tap-root without 

 side-roots. 



Sowing the Seed 

 The soil should be broken up to good 

 depth, well pulverized, and the seed sown 

 in drills about two to three feet apart, to 

 admit of cultivation. Seed should be 

 sown thickly enough to allow for some 

 seeds not germinating and the plants 

 should be thinned to the proper distance 

 to prevent the roots from crowding each 

 other. The seed should be sown early in 

 the spring, as it germinates slowly. After 

 the plants are well started they are hardy 

 and rather vigorous growers. The roots 

 may be left in the ground until late in 

 the autumn, or even over winter, for the 

 quality is not injured by freezing. Some 

 gather them in the autumn and pit them, 

 others mulch them, and still others allow 

 them to freeze, believing that freezing 

 improves them. The trouble with this 

 method of treatment is that it is difficult 

 to dig them while the ground is frozen. 



Marketing 



There are almost as many ways of mar- 

 keting parsnips as there are growers, but 

 the best way we have ever observed is to 

 wash them nicely in clean, pure water, 

 trim off the side-roots and pack them in 

 boxes, evenly according to size, and sell 

 them by weight. The boxes should hold 

 either a bushel or half-bushel. In the 

 orchard districts, where fruit is packed in 

 boxes, an apple box may be used for the 

 bushel and a peach box for the half- 

 bushel. If the packing is neatly done 

 these boxes will hold a bushel or half- 

 bushel by weight. 



Granville Lowtiier 



PAESMP DISEASES 



Late Blight. See Celery Diseases. 



FARSMP PESTS 



Celery Caterpillar. See Celery Pests. 



Parsnip lonse 

 General Appearance 



The apterous forms are pale apple 

 green, occasionally with small red spots 



on the dorsum. The winged forms are 

 green, with dark head, antennae, thorax, 

 middle of the abdomen, tips of cornicles 

 and leg joints. The species is recognized 

 by the small tubercle on the posterior of 

 the abdomeD just above the style. 



Life History 



This is one of the most widely spread 

 species, occurring on many hosts through- 

 out the early spring and summer months. 

 Due to its varied host plants it seldom 

 becomes serious on any one of them. 



Food Plants 



Carrots, parsnips, celery, willows. 



]yatural Enemies 



Especially preyed upon by the larvae of 

 syrphid flies. E. O. Essie 



Paw Paw 



Asim ina 



There are several apparent species, or 

 at least distinctive varieties of the paw- 

 paw. One of these species, if it may be 

 called a distinctive species, is the paw- 

 paw of the tropics, classed botanically as 

 Garica papaya. It has usually a stem, or 

 trunk, without branches, which bears a 

 crest of alternate leaves, in the axils of 

 which are born racemes of small flowers, 

 followed by yellow fruits sometimes a 

 foot long and containing a large quantity 

 of black seeds. The unripe fruits are 

 cooked like squashes but when ripe they 

 are often eaten raw. In climates free 

 from frost the plants are cultivated for 

 home use as other fruits or vegetables. 



Another species is grown in many parts 

 of the United States where the climate is 

 not too severe. It is a small tree, straight, 

 with rather soft, brittle wood, large leaf; 

 grows mostly in deep, rich soils along the 

 streams, and produces an aromatic fruit 

 from two to six inches long. The tree is 

 sometimes grown for ornamental pur- 

 poses and some improved varieties have 

 been produced, but it seems not to have 

 gained favor as a commercial fruit. 



Granville Lowtiier 



