VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 439 



sown at New York the last half of June, or early in July; 

 in Georgia from the 1st to 20th of August. Sow in very 

 rich, fresh-prepared soil. Let the drills be two feet apart, 

 and thin the plants by degrees until twelve or fifteen 

 inches in the row. As soon as the plants appear, loosen 

 the earth about them. It requires a richer soil than the 

 other varieties. Fill any vacancies in the row by trans- 

 planting; these plants will make nearly as large roots 

 as the others. Keep the soil light and mellow by the use 

 of the hoe. Large crops can be tended with the plow 

 and cultivator to great advantage. In good soil the yield 

 is immense. The crop may be drawn as needed. Some 

 should be taken before they begin to grow up to seed and 

 stored in a cool place for late keeping. 



To Save Seed. — Select a few of the best roots, shorten 

 the tap-root, and plant them two feet apart. Tie the 

 stalks to stakes, and keep them at a distance from all 

 other members of the cabbage tribe. Seed of the turnip 

 should be changed every few years, as the plant degene- 

 rates. It keeps three years. 



Use. — This is one of those useful vegetables that can be 

 enjoyed with everything. The tops gathered in winter 

 and spring make the greens much prized by us all in 

 early spring. The roots are wholesome, though they dis- 

 agree with some stomachs. They are considerably nutri- 

 tious also; four ounces of White Dutch containing eighty- 

 five grains of nutritive matter, and four ounces of Ruta 

 Baga containing one hundred and ten grains of the same. 

 Any over-supply of this crop may be fed with great advan- 

 take to cows and swine. 



Marketing. — When the turnip first comes into market 

 it is shipped with the tops on, because these tops are 

 often used for greens, but later in the season the turnips 

 are shipped in barrels like potatoes, with the tops cut off. 



