Turnips. 359 



but a method usually preferred is to make holes lin. deep and 

 4|in. apart into each of which two or three seeds are dropped 

 and the holes closed up. To make the holes, a framework of 

 laths is constructed of a size which will fit the frame easily 

 in the space occupied by one light ; the laths are nailed together 

 in a kind of square lattice-work, about 4^in. from centre to 

 centre at the places where they cross, and at each of these 

 points a peg is fixed, which projects lin. By laying this con- 

 trivance on the soil and pressing down, all the holes necessary 

 under one light are made at one operation. When the seedlings 

 appear, all but one at each place are removed. When the seed 

 is sown broadcast the seedlings must be thinned to about 4in. 

 apart as soon as they can be handled. 



When hot-beds are made without frames the soil is thrown 

 out Gin. deep, 5ft. wide, and of any length. Hot manure is then 

 laid in and well trodden down until it is a uniform depth of 1ft., 

 then the soil which was thrown out is 

 spread over the manure and rolled or 

 trodden down firmly. The seed is then 

 sown thinly in drills, Sin. apart, lightly 

 covered, rolled or trodden in, and the 

 whole well watered. Hoops made from 

 pliable tree branches are then fixed over 

 the bed, on which mats are laid, where 

 they remain until the seed has germinated, 

 after which they are removed daily and 

 replaced each night. As soon as the plants 

 are half grown the mats are left off alto- Co p yrightt V ' A . $ Co> 

 gether and used to form a screen round Half-long White 

 the bed to keep off cold winds. Jersey Navet. 



Sometimes the only protection given to 



the hot-bed is a light covering of loose litter, which is scattered 

 over each night until the plants are established. Good and 

 early crops are taken in this way, although a week or two later 

 than those from beds which have been protected. 



General Culture. Turnips always repay good cultivation, 

 whether early or late in the season. For the earliest open-air 

 crops the warmest and most sheltered spots at command 

 should be selected. In the early part of March, as soon as the 



