mmim ■ 



Vol. XXIV. Second Seribs. 



ROCHESTER, N. Y., JUNE, 1863. 



No. 6. 



TURKIPS. 



Turnips may be divided into three classes : the 

 Swedish turnip, the tankard turnip, and the com- 

 mon turnip. The former, in this' country, is 

 usually designated the ruta-baga. It is too well 

 known to need a lengthy description. It is the 

 hardiest of all the turnip family, and will keep 

 well during the winter and late into the following 

 spring. With proper care it will keep in good 

 order until June. It is the most nutritious of all 

 turnips, and when the land is inhigh condition and 

 the crop properly cultivated it will produce more 

 nutritious food per acre than any other root crop, 

 except the mangel wurzel. 



The tankard turnip holds an intermediate place 

 between Swedes and common turnips. It is ordi- 

 narily more nutritious and more hardy than the 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



latter, but by no means equal in these respects to 

 the former. It is rarely grown in this country, 

 but is quite common in Great Britain, where 

 enormous crops are frequently produced. 



The common turnip, with one or two exceptions, 

 is not so hardy as either of the former, neither is 



it so nutritious. It can be sown later, and does 

 not require such rich laud or such thorough culti- 

 vation. 

 In England it is usual to eat off the commoM 



Fig 3. 

 white turnip on the land with sheep by the first ot 

 December. The tankards come next in order, and 

 lastly the Swedes. • 



Our winters are so severe that the English cuS' 

 torn of feeding off the turnips on the land where 

 they grow can. not be adopted, and this is one great 

 drawback to the extensive culture of these crops 

 in this country. On light sandy soils, such as those 

 of Long Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, 

 and some portions of New England, we can see no 

 reason why it would not be profitable to grow tli» 

 common turnip and feed off the crop with sheep 

 on the land in November and December. It would 

 consolidate and enrich the land, and the expense 

 of growing the crop is comparatively slight. 



Swedes oe Euta-Bagas. — There are many va- 

 rieties of the Swedish turnip. We annex engrav- , 

 ings of a few of the most popular kinds. Fig. 1 



