484 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



fails to do so, from the want of atmospheric moisture. Being a 

 very hardy plant, the crop may be left in the ground until late 

 in autumn, or even all through the winter, and taken up as the 

 roots are required. 



Soil. — Although the Parsnip will 

 grow in almost any kind of soil, it 

 succeeds best in land that is neither 

 over-light and sandy on the one 

 hand, nor too heavy and adhesive 

 on the other. The form of the root, 

 penetrating as it does for a consider- 

 able distance straight down, at once 

 shows the necessity for a sufficient 

 depth of soil to admit of its extend- 

 ing; consequently the ground should 

 be well and deeply dug, so as to 

 readily allow its descent whilst the 

 root is young and delicate. The 

 soil should be moderately rich for 

 Parsnips to grow to a large size, 

 in which condition they are quite 

 different, both in flavour and texture, 

 from the stunted, starved produc- 

 tions resulting from poor hungry 

 land and negligent cultivation. But 

 although the Parsnip likes to be well 

 nourished, it is not advisable to grow 

 it in land that has immediately be- 

 fore received a heavy dressing of 

 manure, as the roots are then liable 

 to be cankered or affected with grub. 

 It is best to grow it after some other 

 crop that has been well manured, such 

 as Onions, Cauliflowers, or Lettuce, 

 trenching or deeply digging the 

 ground over in the autumn, and 

 leaving it as rough as possible on 

 the surface. Should the soil not be 

 suitable for the crop on account of 

 its poverty, some manure ought to 

 be added in the autumn, which will 

 be much better than adding it at 

 the time of sowing, mixing it regu- 

 larly with the soil as the work 

 proceeds. 



Sowing and Thinning. — About 

 the middle or latter end of March, 

 according as the locality may be 

 early or late, as soon as the land is 



sufficiently dry, let it be well forked, 

 reducing all the hard lumps that 

 exist — not merely making it smooth 

 on. the surface, but quite as deep as 

 the fork or spade goes. This is 

 necessary for most plants, but par- 

 ticularly so for Parsnips, or the roots 

 are liable to grow forked. With this, 

 as with all other spring-sown crops, 

 never be guided by a certain date, 

 even to a week, in the time of sow- 

 ing, if the state of the land be such 

 as not to favour the sowing of the 

 seed ; it is always better to wait 

 than sow when the soil is too wet — 

 the effect of which is that it does 

 not germinate freely, and the land 

 gets compressed and never works 

 kindly throughout the whole season. 

 Sow in drills i in. deep, and from 

 15 to 18 in. apart, according to the 

 more or less rich condition of the 

 land. All that is afterwards required 

 is timely thinning, leaving the plants 

 10 or 12 in. apart in the rows, and 

 the careful destruction of weeds by 

 frequent hoeings throughout the 

 season. 



Storing. — Many take up the 

 roots towards the end of October 

 and store them in sand or ashes ; 

 but they are much better if left in 

 the ground, as not liable to get 

 spongy or strong flavoured, which 

 they sometimes do when stored 

 under cover. If the ground occu- 

 pied by the crop is required for 

 other purposes, the roots may be 

 dug up and stuck in mounds or 

 clamps, in the same manner as 

 Potatoes, or a deep trench may be 

 dug and the roots placed perpendicu- 

 larly in it close together, afterwards 

 covering them over with soil to a 

 depth of 6 in. 



