Sec. 30.J GARDEN^ CULINARY VEGETABLES. 471- 



crop. " My neighbors," says the writer, " tell nio it will not produce tur- 

 ni])s, hut charlock." 



"\\ c do not believe that it will change in a single season, but we do know 

 of one instance where such seed was sown, and it produced tnrnii>tops and 

 seed, but few bulbs of any value ; and we believe that if the set-d of these 

 bulblcss i)lants had been sown again and again, the whole semblance of 

 turnips except the tops wonld have been lost. And this being the fact, why 

 may we not believe that the reverse will be the case, where the most perfect 

 bnlljs are selected for propagation ? 



521. diltivatiou and Valtie of the Turnip f rop.— Tlic value of the ruta- 

 baga turnip for stock-feeding (see SSu) seems to bo almost nniver;allv con- 

 ceded, while the common flat tuniip appears to be under a cloud of i>rfju- 

 dice in this country. We have, however, strong faith, from personal expe- 

 rience, in its value as winter food for horned cattle and sheep. Tlicrc is 

 great difference in the value of the several varieties. One of the best is the 

 Red Stra]), which grows well np out of the ground, and all the ujjper part of 

 the bulb is of a rich phnn red. This sort, if sown upon good land, grows 

 rapidly and solid, and such turnips always keep the best and afford the 

 most nutriment when fed to stock, and evcrj' vacant spot in tlie garden 

 may thus be iirofitably occupied. 



For garden culture, turnips should bo sown at three periods: first, as 

 early as the ground is dry and warm enoiigji tor the seeil to vegetate ; 

 second, about the first of June; and the third, after the peas have riptned, 

 and in all other vacant spots from which a fii-st crop has been removed. If 

 seed is sown as late as the middle of October, or, according to latitude, as 

 late as it will grow bulbs the size of pigeons' eggs, and tlu'se are covered 

 over with a mulch of coarse manure, straw, or leaves, and the mulch raked 

 oft' very early in the spring, you will get a fine crop of sprouts for early 

 greens, and sometimes the bulbs will grow again to as to be gtxnl eating. 

 Remember, never save seed from such roots. 



522. Protection of Twrnips from Insects.— Tlio young ]>lan!s are liable to 

 sufler from the attack of certain insects, especially the turnip flea, or beetle 

 — called in England " the fly."' Asa protection against such encnues, wo 

 recommend the following rccii>e : Mix one tablesjioonful of sulphur with a 

 ].int of blood-warm water to half'a pound of 6ee<l ; let it soak a low min- 

 utes, then pour ofl:' the water and mix the seed with a.slus or i>lMster. 

 Whether this would aflbrd any protection against grassh.ippers. could be 

 determined by trial. 



Tiiere has been lately offered in market a new i)roparation of • i-d 



coal-tar," that i.s, coal-tar mixed with n dryer, making a gran dn 



stancc resembling gunpowder, which is said by those wlio hove u»od it to 

 be a good preventive of insects. We know that the scent of coal-tar i« of- 

 fensive to most of tlic tiirm-pest family. A boanl-fence jiaintod with coal- 

 tar apjicars to act as a protector of fruits trained alongside of it. Coal-tar 

 mixed with dried loam in the l\'rm of a powder should bo tried as a pre- 



