To 12 lbs. of parsnips, cut in slices, add 4 galls. of water; boil them till they become quite soft. Squeeze the liquor well out of them, run it through a sieve, and add to every gall. 3 lbs. of loaf sugar. Boil the whole three quarters of an hour, and when it is nearly cold add a little
yeast. Let it stand for 10 days in a tub, stirring it every day from the bottom; then put it into a cask for 12 months; as it works over fill it up every day.
from The Household Cyclopedia 1881