74 
PARSNIPS.—-THE STABLE. 
clay soil much more friable, and to put it in a better 
state to receive the seed, and with no other prepara¬ 
tion than a slight harrowing, to prevent its falling 
too deep in some places between the furrows. We 
write from our own experience in fall and winter 
plowing, of a very tenacious and stiff clay soil. 
PARSNIPS. 
This month, in ordinary seasons, will permit in 
almost all regions of our country, the planting of 
the vegetables which endure the frost of spring. 
Among such are carrots and parsnips. These, of 
course, are to be found in every garden; and the 
carrot on nearly every farm as a field crop, where 
roots are grown for horses and cattle. As yet the 
parsnip has not been made a field crop to any ex¬ 
tent, even in Europe, and not at all in this country. 
And still it is perhaps on all accounts the most 
valuable crop of roots that can be grown in any 
climate that will not permit the winter exposure of 
the turnip ; and where the turnip will endure ex¬ 
posure, the parsnip does equally well, and is quite 
as productive, and in point of quality far superior. 
In the islands of Jersey and Guernsey they are cul¬ 
tivated extensively, and those who have most ex¬ 
perience in their culture prefer them to turnips. 
In all climates of the United States, north of Vir¬ 
ginia, turnips, carrots, and potatoes, must be gath¬ 
ered and housed, or buried in winter; and when 
housed or buried, though with the utmost care, will 
in part decay, and if frosted, or over-heated, they 
are ruined. Hence it is that the farmer needs a 
crop that in any climate will endure the frost and 
exposure of winter. In the parsnip he has it. 
This root may be planted as soon as the frost is out 
of the ground in the spring; it will grow all the 
season, and until the ground freezes in the winter ; 
nay, will grow during the thaws of winter ; it will 
stand out through the winter and receive no harm, 
indeed be improved in its quality by the frost. It 
may be pulled at any time in the winter, and fed, 
and thus costs nothing to gather and store; and 
nothing is lost by decay, or frost, or heat. This 
cannot be said of the carrot, turnip, or potato. 
Here it is superior to them all; is it inferior in any¬ 
thing for a feeding crop ? In nutritive properties it 
is equal in quantity, and as good in quality as the 
carrot, and superior in both to the turnip. In given 
weights, potatoes are superior to parsnips, carrots, 
or turnips; but of these there may be raised with 
the same trouble, expense, and manure, three times 
the quantity that can of potatoes. We have seen 
at the rate of 1,200 bushels of parsnips taken from 
an acre of ground. The same ground, under like 
culture, yielded only 300 bushels of potatoes. 
W e recommend a general introduction of pars¬ 
nips as a field crop, as late winter and spring feed¬ 
ing for swine, horses, and cattle, and especially for 
milch cows. Let the ground be a mellow loam; 
plow well and deeply ; manure well and abundantly 
with both fine rotted, and coarse unrotted manure; 
sow two pounds of seed to the acre; make the 
drills twenty inches apart; sow early, the earlier 
the better, say in March ; cultivate well; stir the 
ground often, and keep all weeds down; have 
the roots about eight inches apart, and for this pur¬ 
pose commence to thin at the end of a month after 
they show above ground, and feed the milch cows 
with the roots pulled; when sufficiently thin, 
keep them well hoed until the tops cover the 
giound well; after which a light plow run between 
the rows occasionally will only be necessary. 
Such is the process of culture; they require no 
more attention than turnips or carrots; no insect 
troubles them; if planted early they grow equally 
well in a hot or a cold summer, as they keep the 
! earth moist; they will grow for nine months in the 
' year, and need no housing or burying in winter. 
| Can oui readers tell us of a root so valuable; 
! cattle and horses are lond of it, and we know that 
it is in every respect equal to carrots, and superior 
It© turnips. It grows in all temperatures of sum¬ 
mer, resists all temperatures of winter, and all de¬ 
cay 7 and thus obviates all the objection made to 
j carrots and turnips, viz., the expense and trouble of 
gathering, storing, and loss from decay. Will our 
readers not try it ? 
Cows eat parsnips with avidity, and the milk is 
finely flavored, and the butter delicious. Beef made 
from them brings the highest price in the London 
market. All animals, horses, cows, hogs, and 
sheep, eat them more readily than carrots, and will 
not touch potatoes when parsnips are to be had. 
In Jersey and Guernsey they are used to fat pork as 
well as beef, and the pork is of the best kind. 
There is a peculiarity in the parsnip to which we 
ask attention. It may be turned into a winter crop. 
It may be planted in August and September, and 
will get a good growth by winter. In the spring 
following it will start with the first thaws, and con¬ 
tinue to grow well all the following season, and 
will not seed. By this means very large roots may 
be grown, and the crop increased in quantity. 
Seed may he obtained at any seed store at about 
seventy-five cents per pound. We trust to hear of 
its extensive cultivation in the coming season. 
THE STABLE.—No. 8. 
Our subject and illustration last month were 
biting and its management, and prevention ; for this 
month they are the kindred ones of kicking and its 
prevention. Kicking is less common but more 
dangerous than biting ; biting being rarely ever very 
serious ; kicking, however, not unfrequently ending 
fatally. Horses that are habitual kickers, are more 
troublesome on account of the injuries inflicted on 
other horses than for those on their attendants. 
Some horses seem to have a mania for kicking; in 
the harness they kick their mates, in the stables all 
within reach, and when they cannot harm other 
horses, will kick at the stall partitions, or if those 
cannot be reached, will kick into the air. In such 
horses there will be found an excess of nervous 
energy, and they are expending it by this mode of 
exercise. Such horses are less vicious in pasture, 
for there they have full opportunity to exhaust 
themselves. In full w r ork they moderate their pro¬ 
pensity, and in excessive work lose it altogether. 
This species of kicker is beyond the reach of cure ; 
the necessity of physical action to exhaust nervous 
energy is so great, that the fear of punishment is of 
no avail. He will break loose in his stable, at any 
hour, day or night, and kick his stall companions. 
Antipathies, he has none, for he will kick one and 
all alike. If such a horse is to be kept, he should 
be shut in a close box stall, and even then should be 
