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, | Root infested with irregular
with tapering fleshy rootlets; | nodular protuberances, or with
occurs in turnips, parsnips, | tumours suspended by roots,
carrots, and mangold. (See | having very much the aspect of
figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, | rows of ginger; occurs in
10.) | 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.
[Illustration: _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.
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.
[Illustration: _Fig. 6._ Carrot of First Year 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.
[Illustration: _Fig. 7._ Forked Carrot run to seed. Half nat. size.]
[Illustration: _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.