TURNIP — WATERMELON 499 
Turnips should be grown in drills, like beets, for the early crop. 
The young plants will stand light frosts. Choose a rainy day for plant- 
ing, if practicable. Cover the seed very lightly. Thin the young 
plants to 5 to 7 inches in the row. Sow every two weeks if a 
constant supply is desired, as turnips rapidly become hard and woody 
in warm summer weather. For the fall and winter crop in the North, 
“On the fourteenth day of July, 
Sow your turnips, wet or dry.” 
In many parts of the northern and middle states tradition fixes 
the 25th of July as the proper time for sowing flat turnips for winter 
use. In the middle states, turnips are sometimes sown as late as the 
end of August. Prepare a piece of very mellow ground, and sow the 
seed thinly and evenly broadcast. In spite of the old rhyme, a gentle 
shower will then be acceptable. These turnips are pulled after frost, 
the tops removed, and the roots stored in cellars or pits. 
For the early crop, Purple-top Strap-leaf, Early White Flat Dutch, 
and Early Purple-top Milan are the favorite varieties. Yellow-fleshed 
sorts like Golden Ball are very fine for early table use, when well grown, 
but most eaters prefer white turnips in spring, although they occasion- 
ally patronize the yellow varieties in the fall. Yellow Globe is the 
favorite yellow fall turnip, {hough some persons grow yellow rutabagas 
and call them turnips. For late crop of white turnips, the same varie- 
ties chosen for spring sowing are also desirable. 
Rutabagas are distinguished from turnips by their smooth, bluish 
foliage, long root, and yellow flesh. They are richer than turnips; 
they require the same treatment, except that the season of growth 
is longer. Fall-sown or summer-sown bagas should have a month the 
start of flat turnips. 
Except the maggot (see cabbage maggot, p. 201), there are no 
serious insects or diseases peculiar to turnips and bagas. 
Watermelon. — The watermelon is shipped everywhere in such 
enormous quantities, and it covers so much space in the garden, that 
home-gardeners in the North seldom grow it. When one has room, 
it should be added to the kitchen-garden. 
The culture is essentially that for muskmelons (which see), except 
that most varieties require a warmer place and longer period of growth. 
