THE TURNIP. 193 



after which their roots become stringy, and are much 

 deteriorated, it is useful to store the turnips in the win- 

 ter, keeping them in a close place, and covering them 

 with straw. 



A small sowing may take place so late as the middle 

 of September ; and if the winter prove mild or open 

 (as often happened previous to 1837-8), young turnips 

 of excellent flavor may thus be procured irt the months 

 of January and February. The best sort for this late 

 sowing is the Dutch yellow, which (as already hinted) 

 resists the cold and inclement weather better than the 

 white. For this winter crop a liberal application of 

 stimulating manure, such as rape-cake and pigeon- 

 dung, was recommended by the late excellent Mr. Stuart 

 of Pinkie garden : he sowed in drills a foot asunder, 

 and thinned out the plants to six inches apart in the 

 drills : a sheltered border was preferred, but no other 

 artificial prot-ection was given ; and his success was com- 

 plete. 



The young plants, while in the seed leaf, are often 

 destroyed b^ a small beetle called the turnip-fly [Hal- 

 tica nemorum). Many remedies have been, proposed : 

 it has been found beneficial to dust the rows with quick- 

 lime-; but perhaps the best precaution is to sow thick, 

 and thus ensure a sufiicient supply both for the insect 

 and the crop. The insect soon ceases to feed and disr 

 appears. - 



In the United States the Turnip, though a highly va- 

 luable product of the soil, is by no means so important 

 a crop as it is in England. The varieties which have 

 been found best adapted to, the soil and climate of the 

 Middle States, are theUarly White Butch or White 

 Strap-lcavedj of which there arc the round and flat 



17* 



