PARSNIE 



289 



Parsnip seed can be sown in January, February, and 

 March, in drills fourteen inches apart : scatter the seeds 

 thinly in the drills, and also sow radish seed thinly as di- 

 rected for carrots, to mark out the rows, as the seed is 

 slow in vegetating. If you do not need the radishes, cut 

 off the tops, and leave them to decay in the soil which 

 they will enrich. Pulling out the radishes lets in the air 

 and fertilizing gases to the roots of the young parsnips, 

 and the radishes are quite fit to pull by the time the 

 parsnips are well up. As they mark out the rows the beds 

 can be hoed before they get full of weeds. If sown alone 

 the beds are full of weeds before the parsnips are ready to 

 hoe, and the labor of culture is much increased. Thin out 

 the plants gradually to three, then to eight inches. Let- 

 tuce and cabbage seed may be sown in drills between the 

 rows of parsnips to be transplanted early. Parsnip seed 

 may also be planted in the fall ; but there is no advantage 

 in it. The details of the culture of parsnip are exactly 

 like carrot, which see. The roots need not be pulled until 

 needed for use. 



For Seed. — A few of the best roots may remain where 

 grown. Keep free from weeds and they will yield abund- 

 antly. They may also be taken up and set out two feet 

 apart in a border ; but they do better to remain undis- 

 turbed. The seeds cannot be depended on for more than 

 one year. 



Use. — The parsnip is a very wholesome and nourishing 

 root, though its peculiar sweetish taste is disliked by many 

 persons. It is however a very agreeable addition to our 

 supply of winter vegetables. Its fattening properties are 

 great, and it is therefore an excellent root for feeding all 

 kinds of farm stock. Cows fed upon it will yield milk 

 abundantly, and butter of the best quality Its seeds are 

 sometimes employed in intermittents. 



