230 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



countries at present, used with salt fish during 

 the season of Lent. It is a good substitute for 

 the potato, yielding a large return of very nou- 

 rishing food, and is often, by country people, 

 eaten when mashed up with that root. Parsnips 

 contain a very considerable portion of sugar, 

 and from this cause they yield a very excellent 

 spirit by distillation. In the north of Ireland 

 the cottagers obtain a sort of beer by mashing 

 the roots and boiling them with hops, and then 

 fermenting the liquor. Wine closely approach- 

 ing in quality the Malmsey of Madeira is made 

 from the roots ; and marmalade made with pars- 

 nips and a small quantity of sugar is thought to 

 excite appetite, and to be a very proper food for 

 convalescents. Bread has also been made from 

 the roots; and in Holland they are much used 

 in soup. The present demand for them, how- 

 ever, is to be eaten with fish or other salt meats. 



Propagation. — Always by seed, which is 

 flat, thin, and light. Half an ounce of 

 seed will sow a bed of 100 square feet, if 

 sown broadcast, and the plants afterwards 

 thinned to 8 or 9 inches distance. The 

 seed will vegetate sooner if steeped in 

 water, as recommended for carrot-seed. 



Sowing and planting. — The seed should 

 be sown as early in spring as the ground 

 is in a proper state of dryness to receive 

 it. As the roots extend to a considerable 

 depth, the ground should be trenched at 

 least 2 feet deep. The drill-system is the 

 most proper to follow: the drills should 

 be from 15 to 1 8 inches apart, and 2 inches 

 deep; and when the plants attain the height 

 of 3 or 4 inches, they should be thinned to 

 6 or 8 inches in the line. Where they 

 come up too thick, they should at that 

 stage be thinned; and as they transplant 

 readily at that age, any blanks in the rows 

 may be made up, or the plantation ex- 

 tended by additional rows. 



Subsequent cultivation. — Keep the ground 

 clear of weeds by hoeing, which should be 

 shallow, for reasons given in article Car- 

 rot. 



Soil and manure. — A light pervious 

 deep soil is the best ; and if in moderate 

 condition, by the manuring of the previous 

 crop, it will be better than applying ma- 

 nure at sowing. Should it be necessary 

 to do so, let the manure be in the most 

 decomposed state possible, or, if otherwise, 

 lay it in the bottom of the trenches as the 

 trenching proceeds. It will grow in a 

 stronger soil than the carrot, and succeeds 

 well in sand or in peat, if sufficiently ma- 

 nured. Soap-boilers' ashes have been ad- 

 vantageously employed as a manure for 



the parsnip, carrot, and potato ; and where 

 laid on to the extent of a pound-weight per 

 square yard, have had good effect in resist- 

 ing the attacks of insects at the roots. 



Taking up the crop, and subsequent preser- 

 vation. — By the end of September the most 

 forward roots will be fit for use; but the 

 general lifting should not take place till 

 the leaves are killed by the frost. It is a 

 much hardier plant than the carrot ; and 

 therefore, if the ground is not required, 

 and the roots are free from disease, they 

 may be left in the ground till spring with 

 safety : otherwise they should be dug up, 

 and iheir tops taken off as recommended 

 for carrots, and either packed in sand in 

 the root-cellar, or pitted as recommended 

 for potatoes. In general it is best to take 

 up all such crops, so that the ground they 

 occupy may be manured and trenched 

 during winter. 



Approved sorts and their qualities. — Long Jer- 

 sey. — An improved variety of the common sort, 

 being much larger and thicker towards the top. 

 This is the variety cultivated in the Channel 

 Islands, where the cultivation of this plant has 

 been long successfully carried on. The crown 

 is somewhat concave or hollow — hence it is often 

 known as the hollow-crowned, Guernsey, and 

 hollow-headed. It is the Panais Lisbonnais of 

 Guernsey. Roots 1 8 inches long, and often from 

 4 to 5 inches in diameter at the top. The best 

 variety for cultivation. 



Common long-rooted. — Scarcely so large as the 

 last ; crown or top slightly convex. This is the 

 Panais longue of the French, the Panais coquine 

 of Guernsey, Jersey parsnip, and Guernsey 

 parsnip. 



Turnip-rooted. — This variety is much smaller 

 than either of the last, of good quality ; and as 

 its roots are short and somewhat turnip-shaped, 

 it is adapted to thin soils. It is the Panais rond 

 and Panais royal of the French. Root formed 

 almost on the surface of the ground, and attain- 

 ing the size of from 4 to 6 inches in diameter. 



Early short-horn. — A recently introduced sort, 

 of delicate flavour and appearance on the table. 

 A smaller and shorter sort, if of improved fla- 

 vour, would no doubt be valuable, as our present 

 sorts are too large to appear whole. 



The late Dr Neill, in " Edinburgh Encyclo- 

 paedia," mentions the Le Batard ou de Siam 

 yellow, apparently intermediate between the tur- 

 nip-rooted and long-rooted varieties, and of more 

 richness in flavour and tenderness of flesh than 

 any of the others. It does not appear to be in 

 our seed-lists, although mentioned by Noisette 

 in " Manuel Complet du Jardinier." The intro- 

 duction of this variety would, for garden pur- 

 poses, be important. 



Insects and diseases.— "The parsnip is subjected 

 to the attacks of a few insects. The maggots of 

 the parsnip-miner (Tephritis onopordonis,iig. 53) 



