Chapter 5 ON DEGENERATE ROOTS.

If the reader revert to page 6, Fig. 3, he will see that the progress from a wild to a better root-form is marked by a more fleshy, but still a much forked, or finger-and-toed example. Now as it is held that a clear unbranched outline is essential to a well-formed root crop of every kind, whenever a crop becomes fingered-and-toed, it is looked upon as a disease. It must be understood that we are here speaking of finger-and-toe as distinct from anbury, which latter is a decidedly diseased condition, whether caused by insects or resulting, as some affirm, from a defect in the soil.

The difference in the two states may be briefly summed up as follows:-

Finger-and-Toe. Anbury.

Root simply branched or forked, with tapering fleshy rootlets; occurs in turnips, parsnips, carrots, and mangold. (See figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.) Root infested with irregular nodular protuberances, or with tumours suspended by roots, having very much the aspect of rows of ginger; occurs in turnips alone. (See fig. 12.)

The example of a root at page 6 is a good form of a parsnip progressing from wildness to a better cultivated form. We now offer an engraving (fig. 5) of a hollow-crowned crop parsnip, fingered-and-toed, and evidently of a very objectionable form, as it will be seen on comparison how nearly alike are figs. 3 and 5.

Fig. 5.-Finger-and-toed degenerate Parsnip. Half nat. size.

Now, as every degenerate crop of parsnips will be found to offer a large proportion of such roots as fig. 5, we seem bound to conclude that, inasmuch as our fig. 3 represents a root in progress towards ennobling, so fig. 5 is that of a root declining to its level,-in other words, degenerating; seed, therefore, that produces such roots can only come from a poor stock.

Our next fig. (6) is of a parsnip that had prematurely flowered. Sending up flowered stems the first year, in the case of a biennial, can only be looked upon as an instance of degeneracy. Plants that "run," as it is termed, being comparatively useless, the best use, indeed, that can be made of them being that of pulling them up and giving them to the pigs.

Fig. 6. Carrot of First Year run to Seed. Half nat. size.

Now this propensity is always accompanied with forked roots, more especially in carrots, which roots are even more degenerate than those represented in figs. 3 and 5, as those were fleshy and succulent; but when the roots of runners are examined, they are always found to be tough and woody, and, in fact, they very nearly resemble the wild examples.

Fig. 7. Forked Carrot run to seed.

Half nat. size.

Fig. 7 is taken from a carrot that has run, and its rough, woody, nodular, forked root is fully apparent.

Fig. 8. Forked Belgian Carrot. Half nat. size.

Fig. 8, from a specimen of White Belgian carrot, forked as it is, is yet not uncommon; still, here the divided roots are succulent. This differs from the annual or run-to-seed roots, as this is a real biennial; but its other mark of degeneracy, besides that of finger-and-toe, was in its possessing a top (removed for experiment before the drawing was made) of many buds or heads. Now a multiheaded root, whether in turnips, carrots, parsnip, or mangel, is another sign of degeneracy, especially in the carrot or mangel, as the wild examples are remarkable for this condition; and in ennobling these roots, one of the difficulties is to get rid of this propensity. Hence, at root shows all forked examples of bulbs, multiheaded and necky examples, should be rejected; they are, however, sometimes made so fat with manuring that they pass muster for size, which indeed seems to be the great quality required at shows: which is a serious mistake, as being no sort of criterion of the state of a field of roots, unless it be an adverse one: as a 10 lb. malformed root, with its huge top, will require more ground to grow than will half a dozen roots averaging 2 lbs. each; whilst the latter are certain to be better and will keep longer.

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