PARSNEP. 



225 



and to allow six inches from plant to plant at the last thin- 

 ning, which may be early, as they are not often hurt by 

 insects. 



Culture, — When the plants are about one, two or three 

 inches high, in May or June, let them be thinned and 

 cleared from weeds either by hand or small hoeing. Keep 

 them afterwards clear from v/eeds, till the leaves cover the 

 ground, after which no further culture will be required. 

 Parsneps will continue growing till the frosts are very 

 severe, and are not good for use till they have become ripe, 

 late in autumn. Any thing which is to be used early in 

 the season may be sown with parsneps, such as carrots to 

 draw young, radishes, lettuces, &c. 



Preserving during winter. — The parsnep is not so liable 

 as the carrot to be hurt by frost if left in the ground, and 

 some let them remain where they grew through winter. 

 But the best way is to dig them some time in November. 

 They should not be wounded nor bruised in digging ; nei- 

 ther should the tops be cut off very close to the roots^ nor 

 any of the lateral roots cut oft'. In either case the roots will 

 rot or become bitter. ''Many lose their parsneps, or 

 make them sprout, by putting them in a warm cellar. It is 

 better to keep them in some out-house, or in a cellar that 

 freezes ; for no degree of frost ever hurts them. But to 

 prevent their drying too much, it is best to cover them with 

 dry sods, or else bury them in sand that has no moisture 

 in it. Beach sand is improper, because the salt in it will 

 make them vegetate." — Deane, 



Field culture of parsneps, — In giving an account of the 

 agriculture of the island of Jersey, an English writer says, 

 " Parsneps are grown by every farmer, and either by the 

 spade culture alone, by the plough and spade, or by the 

 small and great plough : any soil in good heart and tilth 

 suits them, but peculiarly a deep loam ; and in the same 

 spot, generally, are raised beans, peas, cabbage, and, occa- 

 sionally, potatoes. 



" When the ploughing or digging is completed, the field 

 is once harrowed ; straight lines are then drawn across, by 

 means of a gardener's rake, usually from north to south ; 

 women then proceed with dibbles, and set the beans in 

 rows, at a distance of four inches, or five inches, from bean 

 to bean, in four, three, and sometimes two ranks of beans, 

 leaving intervals of between five and six feet between each 

 of the sown rows. In the use of the dibble, and in drop- 

 ping the beans, the women have acquired considerable 



