Turnips. 



357 



TURNIPS. 



Brassica Rapa. 



TURNIPS as a market garden crop are practically indispens- 

 able ; being quick in growth they form one of the most 

 useful subjects for catch crops, and in one way or another 

 afford supplies all the year round. The demand is general, and 

 although the returns are very low at some periods they are 

 high at others, so that on the average the crop yields a very 

 fair margin of profit. The earliest supplies are produced on 

 mild hot-beds, and for these there is usually a steady demand 



at good, and sometimes high, 

 prices. Immediately following 

 these come the tender young 

 roots from sheltered situations 

 in the open which can also be 

 depended upon to sell readily at 

 good prices. Then follow the 

 ordinary spring and summer 

 crops, grown either in beds by 

 themselves or in rows between 

 other slower-moving vegetables 

 and a crop is thus taken from 

 spaces which would otherwise 

 be wasted; these supplies sell 

 well at the beginning but usually 

 meet with a gradually slacken- 

 ing sale as the summer advances. The demand revives with 

 the advent of cold weather and continues fairly steady all 

 through the winter, the round of the year being finished by 

 the production of turnip tops early in the spring. These are 

 sold as bag greens, and as they come at a time when green 

 vegetables are scarce, especially if the winter has been a severe 

 one, they are often welcome and sell at very fair prices. 



The Soil. The best Turnips are grown on a friable sandy 

 loam, but with good culture very fair samples can be grown on 

 most soils. Where it is possible to make a choice, a light sandy 

 soil is to be preferred for very early or late crops, but a cool 



Copyright, S. & S. 



Sutton's 

 Early Snowball Turnip. 



