CULTURE AND QUALITIES. 135 



baga. The latter consumes a good deal of manure. These are sown 

 about the middle of June with a drill harrow. When in the rough 

 leaf, they are hoed and thinned to 8 or 10 inches, and afterwards the 

 ground is small-ploughed and the weeds covered. The white, or the 

 old English are sown about the middle of July, and managed as above. 

 The seed plants should be placed by themselves and not exposed to the 

 farina of others. All the degenerated Swedish turnips bear bright 

 yellow flowers which should be pulled before the seed ripens ; but the 

 true sort have brownish yellow flowers. Tobacco plants, set a rod 

 apart among turnips, are said to save them from insects, or lime 

 strewed over Them. Turnips are commonly sown here as a 2d crop, 

 about a quart, or a pound to an acre, broad cast. Ashes and lime are 

 strewed over the soil after sowing; say 15 bushels of the Island 

 25 of the 2d. Newly cleared or swarded land is said to produce the 

 best turnips. For sheep and cattle, turnips are superior food. Sown 

 broad-cast, the land should be harrowed and rolled. 



The turnip prefers a lighter soil than the cabbage tribe, but it must 

 be well manured, especially the garden turnip. The field culture has 

 become an important part of agriculture, as it should be, from the fact 

 we have stated under the head of the chemistry of agriculture, as to 

 its being the most productive crop grown. The best culture is in 

 drills, by which 25 to 30 tons are raised from the acre ; even 60 tons 

 have been raised. This plant was cultivated by the Romans and es- 

 teemed by them next in value to corn, both to man and animals, and 

 it was thought, their mode of cultivating it was superior to that of 

 moderns. It was, indeed, long cultivated in the east before being 

 brought to Europe. It is a favorite vegetable in Sweden and it is 

 much cultivated and greatly esteemed even in Lapland, where a whole 

 cheese is given for a single turnip. It is eaten raw with avidity by 

 the Russians, and handed around with brandy, on silver plates, among 

 the nobility. Its size is very small in the S. of Europe, scarcely ex- 

 ceeding half a pound, though in ancient Rome they are said to have 

 weighed 40 pounds. They are cultivated in India but appear to have 

 less weight and flavor in hot than in temperate climates. 



The turnip is a biennial plant, with large radical leaves. The 

 flowering stem shoots up the second season, bearing flowers, the pe- 

 tals of which are in the form of a cross, and hence called cruciform. 

 Field and garden varieties differ, and these differ according to soil and 

 culture ; all have, however, a globular form, with crown and top-root. 

 The 10 varieties commonly cultivated are distinguished by differences 

 of color, size, time of flowering, &c. The Maltese golden turnip is 

 much esteemed for its flavor, though small. The Swedish turnip is 

 large and more hardy than other kinds, but it is strong and coarse. 

 The French turnip differs from others, having a root similar to that of 

 a carrot, and highly flavored. It is widely cultivated in Europe, and 



