THE TURNIP. 183 



economy to the enriching of the soil and the ad- 

 vancement of agriculture ; and tlie general testimo- 

 ny of farmers in this country is fully as decided as 

 to its value. Turnips feed cattle and sheep ; these 

 furnish manure ; and this, applied to soils that for- 

 merly produced little or nothing, has, in the modern 

 course of rotation, rendered them productive in the 

 highest degree. No man who pretends to the char- 

 acter of a farmer should neglect the cultivation of 

 this root, as there is probably no way which, on 

 proper soils, so great an amount of nutritive matter 

 can be obtained from so small a space or with so 

 little labour. 



According to the best English writers on the cul- 

 ture of the turnip, the soils best adapted to this root 

 are those which are light, dry, and friable. The 

 British Husbandry says, " The soil best adapted to 

 the turnip is of a dry-bottomed, free nature, of some 

 depth and fertility ; * * ' light, dry, friable ;' * * 

 ' consequently, exclusive of heavy clays.' " Lou- 

 don says, " The soil for turnips should always be 

 of a light description. The turnip cannot be advan- 

 tageously cultivated on wet, tenacious soils." With 

 these authorities the experience of turnip-growers 

 in this country perfectly agrees. All who have 

 written on the subject from their own experience 

 are unanimous in the opinion, that clay lands, or 

 those where a hard, tenacious subsoil or hardpan is 

 near the surface, are unfit for the turnip culture. A 

 rich, friable loam, in which the tap-root descends 

 without difficulty, is to be preferred ; but almost any 

 soil, not of the above-excepted kinds, and dry, will 

 produce turnips ; though the best quahty of roots or 

 the greatest quantities are not in such cases to be 

 expected. 



The kinds most generally used in field-culture are 

 the White Norfolk Globe, the Yellow Aberdeen, and 

 the Ruta-baga, or Swedish Turnip ; in this country, 

 however, where turnips are never, or very rarely, 



