ON REAEING KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



57 



liorse-radish or mint, and ought therefore to be kept at 

 out-corners of the garden. In some places, no care will 

 make them succeed, and they cannot be strongly recom- 

 mended for cottage gardens, though they are extremely 

 prolific, and generally produce great crops. 



Since the occurrence of the disease in potatoes, and 

 their extreme scarcity and dearness in some seasons, the 

 Jerusalem Artichoke has come more into use and favour. 

 It forms a good summer screen or sort of hedge on the 

 outsides of gardens, especially along the northern, north- 

 eastern, and north-western boundaries, where it will do 

 no harm by its shade. In cooking, it should be squeezed 

 dry after boiling, like turnips. 



6. — Turnips, 



One thousand parts of Turnips contain seven parts of 

 starch, thirty-four parts of sugar, one part of gluten, and 

 the rest water, fibre, and nitrogen, on which their flavour 

 chiefly depends ; they are, consequently, nourishing and 

 wholesome, though far inferior to potatoes. 



They grow naturally as a weed in waste places and corn 

 fields, but thrive best in the garden on light open soil, 

 well manured some months before the sowing, and finely 

 dug and raked. Ground that has been long cultivated 

 and thickly cropped becomes unsuitable for turnips, being 

 what gardeners term " cankery." They prefer an exposed, 

 airy place, always thriving best in fields. Land that is at 

 all sloping, especially towards the south, rarely suits 

 them. The proper season for sowing is from the end of 

 May till the middle of August successively ; sooner than 

 this the produce is usually small ; though generally ex- 

 ceedingly sweet and pleasant. 



For the first crops, the stone, Dutch, or any of the 

 white varieties are best ; for a late or winter crop, the 

 Aberdeen yellow, the Swedish, or any of the yellow sorts, 

 are preferable, at least as far as regards their being more 

 hardy, though the white stone turnip has a far more 

 agreeable flavour. The Teltow or long French for stew- 

 ing, is sown first in April, and again in August. 



Sow thickly broadcast, or rather in drills, a foot or a 

 foot and a half apart, covering with two inches or so of 



