348 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
CULTIVATION OF THE TURNIP. 
VINCENT REEVES, CHAMPLIN. 
On all subjects pertaining to horticultural and agricultural pursuits we 
should endeavor to get at practical facts. I will state that the turnip is of 
more importance in some countries than many of you are aware of. That 
little spot on the other side of the Atlantic known as Great Britain, with 
an area little more than the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin and a popula- 
tion of 40,000,000 of people, has an agriculture subject to great competi- 
tion, for it is the dumping ground for the surplus products of the soil for 
all nations. Comparatively speaking, very few of the agriculturists own 
the farms they cultivate, and they pay heavy rentals. The soil has been 
cultivated for centuries, and is more productive than ever, and why? The 
reason is they are a nation of turnip cultivators, and the failure of the turnip 
crop would be a greater calamity to the British farmer than a failure of the 
cereals, for the reason that bread foods could be obtained from other na- 
tions, and turnips could not. When I speak of turnips, I mean mangel 
wurzels and all other kinds pertaining to root crops. It must be borne in 
mind that the English climate is particularly adapted for the cultivation of 
root crops. It is nevertheless true that in the plain zone in which we live 
the turnip is not a crop to be depended upon; perhaps three years out of 
five we get an abundance of moisture, which is so essential to produce a 
good crop when other conditions are right. 
You may as well dance jigs to a mile mark as to expect a good crop 
of turnips on poor soil. You would naturally say we want a rich soil to 
produce a maximum crop of anything. We raise corn and beans on rather 
poor soil, but if you keep account of your labor and interest on value of land 
you will find you receive a small remuneration for your labor. The soils 
best suited to the growth of turnips are those of a free working, loamy 
character, plowed to a good depth and well manured, and add, if you have 
any confidence in commercial fertilizers, from 200 to 500 pounds of super- 
phosphates sown broadcast and well harrowed in. With sufficient moisture 
you ought to get 1,000 bushels per acre, at a cost not to exceed three 
cents per bushel, which does not include storing. I will tell you how to 
get them to market in a few minutes. From two to four pounds of seed 
should be sown to the acre, in rows two and one-half feet apart. As soon 
as you can see the rows don’t-wait for weeds, but commence cultivating. 
On light soils cultivate as soon as they are in their third leaf, which is 
rough; then with the hoe thin to four or five inches. 
Such as the Purple Top Strap Leaf, or the Milan or White Flat Dutch, 
and such varieties, are the best for market gardeners or family use. There are 
about twenty varieties of the English turnip, and almost the same number 
of ruta bagas, among the best varieties of which there are many strains, 
as Carter’s Hardy Swede and Skirvings, while the Monarch Swede Ele- 
phant, which has recently been introduced from England, is gaining favor 
wherever grown. These varieties must be thinned from ten to twelve inches 
apart. 
Some of you may say if we all went to turnip growing what would we 
do with them? You never want to sell turnips; the market for them is on 
your own farms. Prof. Shaw has been for several years endeavoring to 
impress on the minds of the farmers in the northwest the importance of 
sheep husbandry; he has demonstrated that it is not necessary to run over 
