ESCULENT-ROOTED PLANTS. — THE PARSNIP. 



229 



Save seed in the same manner as with car- 

 rots ; one or two plants will afford a supply for a 

 small garden. It is not subject to the attacks 

 of insects, although hares and rabbits are exceed- 

 ingly fond of it. It is, however, almost invari- 

 ably attacked by Erysiphe dehor -acearum, Link, 

 a small parasitic fungus, one of the mildews ; 

 but it has not the effect of injuring the growth 

 of the plant much, as it is late in summer when 

 it makes its appearance, in the form of numerous 

 white blotches. This vegetable is much culti- 

 vated in France. The European names are — 

 Salsifis in French ; Sassifica in Italian ; Bocks- 

 bart in German ; Barba cabruna in Spanish ; 

 and Boksbaard in Dutch. 



The Skirret (Sium sisarum L.) belongs to 

 the natural order Umbelliferse, sub-ordqp Or- 

 thospermse, and tribe Amminege, and to the 

 class Pentandria and qrder Digynia in the Lin- 

 nsean arrangement. The generic name is de- 

 rived from Siw, water, in Celtic. The specific 

 name is from tfgizer, the Arabic name, which 

 signifies carrot. A native of China. Introduced 

 before 1548. 



Use. — The roots, which are composed of small 

 fleshy tubers, joined together at the head or 

 crown, are the parts eaten. When boiled, they 

 are eaten with butter, and are sweet and very 

 agreeable. They are much used in French 

 cookery, and more cultivated on the Continent 

 than with us, although there are few gardens of 

 importance without them. 



Their cultivation is similar to that of salsify, 

 only they are propagated both by seeds and by 

 off-sets taken from the old roots. The better 

 way, however, is by seed. 



The European names are, Chervis in French ; 

 Sisaro in Italian ; Zuckerwortzel in German ; 

 Suckerwortel in Dutch ; and Chirira-tordesca in 

 Spanish. In the north of Scotland, according 

 to Loudon, it is cultivated under the name of 

 Crummock. 



Scorzonera (Scorzonera hispanica L., Spanish 

 Scorzonera) belongs to the natural order Com- 

 positae, sub-order Cichoracese, and tribe Scor- 

 zonereae, and to the class Syngenesia and order 

 iEqualis in the Linnaean arrangement. The 

 generic name is derived from Scurzon, the 

 Catalonian name of the viper. The plants 

 are esteemed in Spain as a certain remedy for 

 the bite of a viper; but it is believed that 

 the slender tortuous form of the roots has 

 given rise to this belief, rather than any quality 

 inherent in the plant ; for it is a rule to which 

 there are very few exceptions, that all plants 

 used as food by man possess very inactive 

 qualities. If their action was powerful, they 

 would be unfit for food." — Encyc. of Plants, p. 

 668. It is a native of Spain, and was introduced 

 to Britain before 1576. 



The roots, which are long, black, and taper- 

 ing, about | of an inch in diameter at top, are 

 the parts used. They are boiled or stewed after 

 the manner of parsnips ; the outer rind is scraped 

 off, and the roots placed to steep in cold water 

 for several hours, to extract a part of their bitter 

 flavour. It is also variously used in French 

 VOL. II. 



and Italian cookery. It is found in all our best 

 gardens, but, like salsify and skirret, occupies 

 about one-fifth the space that parsnips do. 



It is propagated by seeds ; and its cultivation, 

 in all respects, is similar to that of salsify and 

 skirret, only requiring about 4 or 5 inches more 

 space between the rows, and 3 inches more be- 

 tween the plants in the lines. An ounce of seed 

 will sow a drill 40 feet in length. Few insects 

 trouble it ; but, like the salsify and skirret, the 

 Erysiphe dehor acearum, or mildew fungus, some- 

 times attacks it. Its European names are — 

 Scorzonere, or Salsafis d'Espagne, in French; 

 Scorza-nera in Italian ; Skorzonere in German ; 

 Escorzanera in Spanish ; and Skorzoneere in 

 Dutch. 



Hamburg parsley (Apium petroselinum L., var. 

 Tuberosum, "Bon Jardinier") belongs to the na- 

 tural order Umbelliferse, sub-order Orthospermse, 

 and tribe Ammineee, and to the class Pentan- 

 dria and order Digynia in the Linnaean arrange- 

 ment. The generic name is derived from A pon, 

 water, Celtic, from its place of growth. This 

 refers more especially to Apium graveolens, the 

 common celery. The Hamburg parsley is a va- 

 riety of the common sort, Apium petroselinum, 

 having large fleshy roots, and for these it is cul- 

 tivated. 



The roots as well as the leaves communicate 

 an agreeable flavour to soups and stews. It is 

 much grown in Germany, and was formerly so 

 in England, and often cooked like the parsnip or 

 the yellow turnip. 



It is propagated by seed, which is sown at 

 the same time as parsnips, and the routine of 

 culture differs not from that of that plant. 



§ 7. — THE PARSNIP. 



Natural history. — The parsnip (Pastinacea 

 saliva Tourn.) belongs to the natural order Um- 

 belliferse, sub-order Orthospermse, tribe Peuce- 

 daneae, and to the class Pentandria and order 

 Digynia in the Linnaean arrangement. The 

 name is derived from Pastus, nourishment; 

 or, according to others, from Pastinum, a dibber 

 or dibble, the root resembling that implement in 

 form. Indigenous to Britain ; found generally in 

 calcareous soils and in waste places. Like the 

 carrot, it is difficult to say whether it is to cultiva- 

 tion or importation that we are indebted for this 

 root in its present state — most probably to the 

 latter — and that it may have been brought from 

 Germany or Italy. Phillips asserts (but of this 

 we have doubts) that if the wild parsnip is grown 

 for two or three years successively in rich soil, 

 it will assume all the characters of the cultivated 

 sort. It appears to have been early reclaimed 

 and cultivated on the banks of the Rhine, for 

 Pliny says they were brought from thence to the 

 Roman emperors' tables. Gerard speaks of a 

 broad-leaved and narrow-leaved variety being 

 grown in gardens in his time. 



Use. — In former times the parsnip was more 

 generally used as an article of food than at pre- 

 sent, and was with us then, as in Roman Catholic 



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