ROOTS, TUBERS, BULBS 99 



amount of seed, but the proper amount is about two or three 

 pounds per acre. 



English turnips grow very rapidly and are soon large 

 enough to use. They produce at the rate of ten to fifteen 

 tons per acre. 



Swedish turnips are frequently called ruta-bagas and this 

 is generally shortened to *^bagas." They are also called 

 "Swedes." Swedish turnips are used mostly for feeding live 

 stock, but can also be used for the table. They grow larger 

 and require a longer season to reach full growth than the 

 English turnips. They will not grow so well in warm tem- 

 perate climates as the English turnips, but are best suited to 

 the climate of our northern border states and Canada. They 

 should be sown in drills about two feet apart, using about one 

 pound of seed to the acre. They should be cultivated the 

 same as other root crops and thinned to five or six inches 

 apart in the row. Twenty or more tons to the acre can be 

 grown. 



All kinds of turnips are hardy and do not need to be gath- 

 ered until the ground begins to freeze. It is better to store tur- 

 nips in trenches or mounds of earth, for when put into dry cel- 

 lars they lose moisture and become pithy and not good to use. 



Potatoes. — Potatoes are not roots, but tubers. The po- 

 tato is a native of America. The Indians were growing it 

 when the first colonists came to this country. When the po- 

 tato was introduced into the Old World it became a source 

 of food for millions of people. In this country it is used 

 chiefly for food. Jt is also used for the manufacture of 

 starch, but not to such an extent as in other countries, for 

 we have Indian corn which is a cheaper source of starch. 



Potatoes do best in loam soils having a tendency to become 



