734 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



frosty weather setting in, some 

 strawy litter is added to the cover- 

 ing. If the weather is mild, the 

 mats are let down every day so as 

 to admit light to the young plants ; 

 and as soon as it can be done with 

 safety, they are removed from over 

 the beds and left erect around their 

 sides in order to ward off winds. 

 Sometimes the aid of either frames 

 or hoops and mats is dispensed 

 with, and the crop is grown on hot- 

 beds like those just described, a 

 little loose litter being merely strewn 

 over the surface until the plants are 

 established; in this way excellent 

 Turnips are produced a week or 



two later than those which have 

 been protected. Some growers use 

 the space between the lines of 

 frames for growing Turnips ; and 

 well it answers for that purpose, as, 

 owing to the soil being below the 

 general level, it keeps comparatively 

 moist, and the belts of frames pro- 

 tect the plants considerably. The 

 soil between Turnips is kept stirred 

 with the hoe as frequently as pos- 

 sible, for no crop is more benefited 

 by surface stirrings than this. Spring 

 Turnips are generally got off the 

 ground in time to permit of it being 

 cropped with French Beans, summer 

 Cabbage, Spinach, or Celery. * 



Uses. — The roots are boiled, and served up in various ways. 

 In spring the young shoots or " tops " may also be used, especially 

 if grown in a dark place, when they furnish a very delicately 

 flavoured vegetable, somewhat like the Sprouting Broccoli, t 



A. Long Varieties 



Half-long White Forcing Turnip. — A very pretty variety, 

 intermediate in shape between the White Carrot-shaped Turnip 



and the Jersey Turnip, but 

 smoother, less leafy, and 

 earlier than either. It is 

 unrivalled for forcing, suc- 

 ceeding, if sown under glass 

 in the spring, better than 

 any other variety known. 

 The foliage is light, very 

 much cut, and quick in 

 growth. It is less liable to 

 run to seed than any other 

 Turnip if its growth be 

 properly pushed. 



White Carrot-shaped, 

 or Pointed Vertus, Turnip. 

 — Root pure w^hite, cylin- 

 drical, ending in a long 

 „ . ^ . ^ . point, often curved or 



Half-long White Forcing Turnip. ^^.^^^^^ ^ g ^^^^ 



2 in. or less in diameter, visible above ground for nearly one-fourth 

 of its length ; flesh white, very tender, sugary ; skin very smooth, 



* Yellow-fleshed Turnips, see p. 775. t The Turnip Fly, see p. 782. 



