156 Bulletin 244. 



small as possible. If fed to cattle without pulping, there is always dan- 

 ger that they may bolt part of the neck, and this is a frequent cause of 

 choking. 



The crown: 



The crown should be single. Multiple crowns are as objectionable 

 in turnips as in mangels. Roots possessing such are generally coarser, 

 more fibrous and are thought to be of lower feeding value. 



Soil for turnips: 



The best soils are free-working loams, rich in organic matter and in 

 good tilth. Common turnips will thrive on the lighter loams and the 

 rutabagas will give higher yields on the medium to heavy loams, al- 

 though if well supplied with moisture and manure good crops may be 

 grown on light friable soils. Stiff clays are unsuitable on account of the 

 difficulty in obtaining a fine seed-bed, which is an essential, and light 

 sandy and gravelly soils are objectionable because the yield is low. The 

 root system of turnips is mainly near the surface, and the moisture supply 

 at this point, in the sandy soils, is liable to fail. 



Climate for turnips: 



Climate is of more importance than soil. For perfect development a 

 damp, rather dull climate seems to be best. Unless the rainfall is well 

 distributed throughout the growing period, the plants are liable to receive 

 a check from which they never recover. 



Rotation, and preparation of land: 



Turnips may be grown in place of some other intertilled crop, as be- 

 tween two grain crops. They can not, however, be grown too frequently 

 upon the same land without danger. Clubroot or finger and toe (Plas- 

 uiodiophora brassier) attacks all the cruciferge which are cultivated, viz., 

 cabbages, rutabagas, kohlrabi, turnips, mustard, as well as the weeds, 

 wild mustard and others, and if this disease once secures a foothold it 

 may seriously reduce the yield. Other diseases, as brown rot (Pseudo- 

 monas campestris) and soft rot {Bacillus carotovorous), are best com- 

 batted by a good rotation. Generally speaking, it will be safer to grow a 

 crop of this nature but once in a rotation of six or eight years. The land 

 should be limed at least once in this time and the lime should be applied 

 shortly before the turnip crop is to be grown and not immediately after it. 

 The lime is inimical to the parasitic plant which causes clubroot, and 

 appears to be of benefit in other ways. 



The land should be prepared by fall plowing, turning under an appli- 

 cation of about 10 tons of manure per acre. It should be very well pre- 



