468 



TUR 



'1' U K 



tive depredations of the fly. "^ he 

 turnu) tl} Id always foiitio mos^t nu- 

 merous u\ rouglj-worked ground, 

 as there ihey can retreat and take 

 sheher under the clods or lumps of" 

 earth, f'roin such changes of wi a- 

 ther as are disagreeable to them, 

 or fr in the attacks of small birds 

 and ot!,er animal?. 



" E periments have been tried, 

 on coa mg the seed with sulphur, 

 soot, &c. and of steeping it in train 

 oii and in solutions of various kinds, 

 as a security against the tlj, but 

 the result has not been such as to 

 establish any practice of this na- 

 ture. 



" Hoeing the plants, and setting 

 them out as it is called, comes 

 next under consideration. Ihe 

 methrd of doii:g tliis dexterous!) is 

 ditlicuh to describe; nothing but 

 practice can teach it. A boy in 

 the turnip counties, b) the time he 

 is the height of the lioe, begins to 

 make use of it ; consequently every 

 man who has been bred there to 

 coui.try business, is a turnip hoer, 

 yet not always, even with this ad- 

 vantage, an expert one. 



" The operation to be perform- 

 ed dexterously and well, requires 

 a quickness of eye and a dexterity 

 of hand that eveiy man is not fa- 

 voured with ; while some men 

 catch the proper plants to be sing- 

 led, and set them out with a rapi- 

 dity and neatness of extcution very 

 pleasing to the observer. 



" The critical time of the first 

 hoeing is, when the plants as they 

 lie spread upon the ground, are 

 nearly the size of the palm of the 

 band; if, however, se d weeds be 

 numerous and luxuriant, they ought 



to be checked before the turnip 

 plants arrive at that size ; lest by 

 being drawn up tall and slender, 

 they should acquire a week, sickly 

 habit. 



" A second hoeing should be 

 given when the leaves are grown 

 to the height of eight or nine in- 

 ches, in order to destroy weeds, 

 loosen the earth, and finally to re- 

 gulate the plants ; a third, if found 

 necessary, may be given at any 

 subsequent period." 



The common white turnips 

 should be used before spring, as 

 they are apt to become spongy ; 

 but the ruta baga will keep longer, 

 and may be used after the hrst 

 mentioned are exhausted. 



For further information relative 

 to the culture of this plant, see 

 Massachusetts Agricultural Reposi- 

 tory, Vol. V. p. 21. Vol. VI. p. 

 36.' 39. 265. 



A treatise upon the Ruta Baga, 

 or Swedish turnip, has been writ- 

 ten by William Cobbet, from which 

 the following notices are extracted. 



Description of the Plant. — " The 

 leaf of everv other sort of turnip is 

 of a yeilowish green ; but the leaf 

 of the Ruta Bage is of a blueish 

 green, like the green of peas when 

 of their full size, or like the green 

 of a young and thrift) Yorkshire 

 cabbage ; hence it is called the 

 Cabbage Turnip. The outside of 

 the bulb of the Ruta Baga is of a 

 greenish hue, mixed towards the 

 top with a colour bordering upon 

 the red ; and the inside, if they are 

 true and pure, is of peep yellozv, 

 near!) the colour of gold." 



Mode of saving and preserving 

 the seed. — " The Ruta Baga is apt 



