PARSNIP, Postinaca, a genus of plants of the natural order umbelliferce, having com pound umbels with neither general nor partial involudres; yellow flowers with roundish, involute, sharp-pointed petals; calyx almost without teeth; fruit dorsally compressed and flat, with a broad border, the ridges very fine. The species are annual, biennial, or per ennial herbaceous plants, with carrot-like, often fleshy roots,, and pinnate leaves.—The COMMON PARSNIP (P. sativa) is a native of England, although not of Scotland, and is abundant in some districts, particularly in chalky and gravelly soils. It is also found in many parts of Europe, and of the north of Asia. It is a biennial, with angulm: furrowed stem, 2 to 3 ft. high, pinnate leaves with ovate leaflets, rather shinuing, cut, and ser rated, and a three-lobed terminal leaflet. The root of the wild plant is white, aromatic, mucilaginous, sweet, but with some acridness; and injurious effects have followed from its use. Cultivation has greatly modified the qualities both of the root and foliage, rem. dering them much more bland. The parsnip has long been cultivated for the sake of its root, which in cultivation has greatly increased in size, and become more fleshy. The flavor is disliked by some, as well as the too great sweetness, but highly relished by others; and the root of the parsnip is inure nutritious than that of the carrot. The prod uce is also, on many soils, of larger quantity; and although the parsnip delights in a very open rich soil, it will succeed inclayey soils far too stiff for the carrot. It is rather remarkable that it has not been extensively cultivated as a field-crop, and for the feeding of cattle, except in the Channel islands and in limited districts of continental Eurepe; more particularly as cattle are very fond of it, and not only the flesh of cattle fed on it is of excellent quality, but the butter of dairy-cows fed on parsnips in winter is far supe rior to that produced by almost any other kind of winter-feeding. The mode of
tion of the parsnip scarcely differs from that of the carrot. There arc several varieties in cultivation. A very large variety, cultivated in the Channel islands on deep sandy soils, has roots sometimes 3 or 4 ft. long; but this is fully twice the ordinary icngth, and there is a smaller turnip-rooted variety sometimes cultivated in gardens where soil is very shallow. The parsnip is used chiefly in winter, whether for the table or for feed cattle. It is improved rather than injured by frost; but is apt to, become rusty if allowed to remain too long in the ground; and exhibits acrid qualities after it has begun to grow again in spring. The root of the parsnip is much used in the north of Ire land for making a fermented liquor, with yeast and hops; and both in England and Ireland, for making parsnip wine, which has some resemblance to Malmsey wine.— Another species, the CUT-LEAVED PARSNIP Or SEKAKUL (P. dea huh), having pinnatifid cut leaflets, a native of India, Syria, and Egypt, is cultivated in the Levant, and is very similar in its uses to the common parsnip.