134 THE CULTURE OF VEGETABLES 



advantage to have a sufficiency of some stimulating manure near the 

 surface to hurry the growth of the young plant, for the danger of fly 

 belongs to the seed-leaf stage. Generally speaking, the Turnip fly 

 does but little harm in gardens ; but where it is much feared, the 

 seed should be sown in prepared drills to encourage a quick growth. 

 Draw the drills twelve to fifteen inches apart, three inches deep, and 

 about the same width, and almost fill them with rotten manure, or 

 with a mixture of earth and guano, or wood ashes ; cover this with a 

 little fine soil to prevent injury to the seed ; then sow, and lightly 

 conceal the seed with earth as a finish. If the ground is sufficiently 

 moist, growth will commence almost immediately, and the plant will 

 come up strong, and very quickly put forth rough leaves. In the 

 general management more depends on timely and judicious thinning 

 than upon any other point. If Turnips are not well thinned, so that 

 each plant can spread its green head unimpeded by the leaves of a 

 neighbour, a good growth cannot be expected ; and thinning by the 

 hoe should be commenced as soon as the rough leaves appear. The 

 operation must be repeated until the plants are at a suitable distance, 

 and then comes the process of singling, which should be done by 

 hand. It will be found that in many cases two or three little plants 

 stand together looking like one. There must be only one left at 

 each station, and that should be the shortest. The distances may 

 vary from four to ten inches, according to the vigour of the variety 

 and the kind of Turnips required. An easy and profitable plan is to 

 allow a certain number of bulbs to swell to supply young Turnips, 

 and, by drawing these, leave room for the remainder of the crop to 

 attain its proper size for storing. 



To obtain a succession of Turnips is a matter of considerable im- 

 portance, and should have constant attention in every good garden. 

 An early crop of small bulbs may be grown, by sowing in January 

 on a very gentle hot-bed as prescribed for early Radishes, and it 

 may be well to add here, that in an emergency, white Turnip Radishes 

 may be made to take the place of Turnips, both to flavour soups and 

 to appear as a dish in the usual way. Fast-growing Turnips may be 

 sown on an open sheltered border in February, to be carefully 

 watched and protected when unkind weather prevails. In March, 

 April, and May, sowings should be made consistently with the 

 probable wants of the household, but the May sowings should com- 

 prise two or three sorts in the event of hot dry weather spoiling some 

 of them. The principal sowings for autumn and winter use are made 

 in June and July, and it will often pay to sow as late as August 15, 



