THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 





-stirring of the soil, and earthing up, is the great 

 point in potato culture. (For further information 

 on potato culture, see AGRICULTURE.) 



Of the Tiirnip there are two races the Common 

 and the Swedish turnip : of the former, the leading 

 varieties grown in gardens are the Early White 

 Dutch; the Yellow Dutch ; Golden Stone; Yellow 

 Malta; Orange Jelly; the Entire-leaved Red-top; 

 and the Black Turnip. The white is the most 

 delicate while young ; the yellow Dutch has also 

 an excellent flavour. Of Swedes, the best garden 

 variety is Laing's entire-leaved yellow, but all the 

 field sorts may be used if sown a month or so 

 later than in field-culture. They are preferable 

 for using in winter and spring. Turnips are 

 sown in drills one foot or more apart, and thinned 

 when two or three inches high. They do best in 

 lightish soils enriched with bone-dust, guano, or 

 good old stable-dung. Small sowings should be 

 made in succession from March till July, and then 

 the main crop for winter should be sown. Swedes 

 should be sown in May. Deeply hoe the ridges 

 after thinning, and keep the surface clear of 

 weeds. The young leaves, ' turnip tops,' form 

 excellent greens in early spring, and when 

 blanched they are good substitutes for sea-kale. 



Of the Carrot, the favourite varieties are the 

 Early Horn, the Altringham, Long Red Surrey, 

 Short Intermediate, and James' Intermediate. All 

 require a deep light soil. The early horn is sown 

 in February for the spring crop ; the other kinds 

 are sown in March, April, and May. All may be 

 sown broadcast in beds, but drills are preferable, 

 as being easier cleaned. For sowing, choose a 

 calm day, as the seeds are very light ; they 

 should also be rubbed between the hands along 

 with some dry sand or wood-ashes, to separate 

 them, and so facilitate an equable sowing. Carrots 

 may be stored like potatoes in winter ; and it 

 adds materially to their preservation in a sound 

 and sweet condition, to riddle over the layers a 

 few barrowfuls of dry mould or sand. The Altring- 

 Jham is best suited for a full garden crop. 



The Parsnip is taper-rooted, resembling the 

 carrot in shape, and by many it is deemed a more 

 delicious vegetable. It requires a rich deep soil, 

 trenched and manured as if for a crop of carrots. 

 The seed is sown in drills a foot asunder. The 

 period of sowing is comprised between the last 

 week of February and the first week of May. 

 On thinning out, let the remaining plants be nine 

 inches apart in the row. Parsnips are not liable, 

 like carrots, to be injured by severe weather ; but 

 if taken up before Christmas, and properly pro- 

 jected, they will continue good till May. 



Of the Radish there are numerous varieties 

 generally cultivated. According to Lindley's cata- 

 logue, these are i. The long white ; 2. Purple 

 or salad radish; 3. Salmon or rose-coloured; 

 4. Scarlet ; 5. White Russian radish ; 6. Crimson 

 -turnip-rooted; 7. Early white; 8. Purple turnip; 

 9. White turnip; 10. Yellow turnip; n. Black 

 Spanish; 12. Brown oblong; 13. Large purple; 

 14. Round brown ; 15. White Spanish, a large 

 bulb, which in good soil grows to the size of a 

 small stubble turnip. To this list have since been 

 added the oblong or olive-shaped white and red, 

 which yield to none of the others in earliness and 

 excellence. 



Numbers 2 and 3 are the best of the spindle- 

 xooted radishes ; numbers 6 and 7 of the early 



turnip-rooted. The winter radishes, n and 15, 

 are rarely seen in gardens ; but the latter is very 

 mild, and its texture is tender, if the soil and 

 season be favourable. 



Sown in February and March, the spring 

 radishes come into use in April and May ; if 

 required earlier, they must be protected by frames 

 or mats. The market - gardeners obtain them 

 early by gentle forcing, covering the beds every 

 severe night. The sowings of all the early vari- 

 eties may be repeated monthly till August. The 

 winter radishes are sown in July and August, and 

 come into use from September till the spring. A 

 rich and light soil suits the radish, with occasional 

 copious supplies of water ; and rapidity of growth 

 is required, otherwise the roots will not be tender, 

 nor will the flavour be mild. 



Spottiswoode 's Rat-tail Radish. In 1856, a re- 

 markable kind of radish was raised in the Edin- 

 burgh Botanic Garden from seeds sent from India 

 by Mrs Colonel Spottiswoode. It is called the 

 Rat-tail Radish, and the edible part or ' radish ' is 

 not the root, but the young seed-pods. It pro- 

 duces a very abundant crop, and is well suited 

 to the climate of Britain. Sow in April, in rows 

 1 8 to 24 inches apart, and thin out the young 

 plants to from 12 to 15 inches. The pods are 

 very delicate, and well adapted for summer and 

 autumn salads. 



Horse-radish is a plant which in most soils is of 

 uncontrollably luxuriant growth ; it is a most per- 

 nicious weed where it intrudes, on account of the 

 multitude of vital germs with which its root-stock 

 abounds, and by which it is rendered a sort of 

 vegetative polypus, every inch of it being capable 

 of developing a growing bud. The horse-radish 

 is thus of very easy culture, but to be grown to 

 perfection requires a deep soil It is ordinarily 

 grown in an out-of-way shaded corner, and left 

 without care, furnishing in this way an ample 

 supply of roots. Serious accidents have happened 

 from aconite roots being used instead of horse- 



Horse-radish. 



Aconite. 



radish, and therefore great caution is required. 

 With the view of supplying instruction on tl 

 point, and preventing future accidents, specimens 

 of the two roots have of late years been placed 

 side by side in the botanical museums of Kew 

 and Edinburgh, and above we represent thejrooti 



