500 ON RUTA BAGA. Juiie 29, 



table method of confiimir!git,\vhere it is to be kept very lr\te,i::, 

 I km ftill convinced, to cut off the tops with a fcythe or Ijckle, 

 ■when from one foot to eighteen inches high, to induce it to 

 fend ont frefli ftems, that willcontinue foft and fiiccnlent to 

 the enr' ; wherea"!, without this procefs, the ftems would be- 

 come ftickv and ufelefs. 



I cannot, however, recommend this kind of turniji, from 

 what I have yet fien, as a general crop, becaiife I think it 

 probable, that nnlefs in particular circumftancf-s, the common 

 field turnips grow to a much larger fize, and afford, upon the 

 whole, a more weighty crop. Thefe, therefore, fhould ftill 

 continue to be cultivated for rjjinter ufe, the other being re- 

 ferved only iox fprinv; cnniumption. 



Experiments are (till wanting to afcertain with certainty 

 the peculiar foil and culture that beft agree v.ith this plant ; 

 but from the few obfervatioiis I have hitherto had an oppor- 

 tunity of making upon it, it feems to me probable, that it 

 thrives better, and grdws to a larger fize on damp clayey foil, 

 than on light fandv land. But I would not wifli to be undcr- 

 ftood as here fpeaking pofitively ; I merely throw it out as a 

 hint for future obfervaMon ; on fpungy foil it profpers. 



Though the iifes of this as a garden plant, are of much 

 fmajler confequence than thofe above -fpecifled, it may not be 

 improper to remark, that its leaves form a very fweet kind of 

 greens at any time; and, merely for the fake of the experiment, 

 Icanfe i fome of thefe to be picked off the ftems of the plants 

 coming to feed, on the 4th of June, the King's hirth-day, 

 which., on being readied, were found perfecflly fwtet, without 

 the fmalleft tendency to bitterntfs, which moft, if not all other 

 kindsof greens tlat have been hitherto cultivated ari* known 

 to acquire, after their ftems are confiderably advanced ; no 

 family, therefore, can ever be at a lofs for greens when they 

 have any of this plant in feed. 



A root of this kind of turnip was taken up this day (June 

 35th) ; the feed ftalks were firm and woody, the pods full 

 form.ed, and in fome of them the feeds were nearly ripe. The 

 root, however, was a-; foft and fucculent as at any former 

 period of its growth ; nor was the fkin, as I expt died, hard or 

 woody. It wa': ma(!e ready and brought to the table; fome 

 perfons there thought the tat>e as good, if not better, than at 

 any former period of its growth ; but I myfclf, perhaps 

 through prejudice, thought it had not quite fo high a rclifli as 

 in winter ; At any rate, however, there can be no doubt that, 

 if ever it could be neceffary, it might, even now, be employ- 

 ied very properly as a feeding for cattle. 



J- A. 



