December 31, 1898. 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



863 



Vegetables for Exhibition. 



THE TURNIP. 



turnips {Brasstca Rap 



care and attention, and any and everything that can be done to assist 

 the young plants and induce a free growth should be done. On all 

 kinds of lands I advise drawing the drills about one inch deeper than is 

 necessary for the seed sowing, and into these should be placed some 

 finely-prepared compost, nothing being better for this purpose than the old 



especially in large establishments, so that much care and forethought will 

 be found necessary to meet the demand. The turnip is a moisture-loving 

 plant, and during a hot, dry 



July 



through taxes the^ skill of the gardener as much perhaps as any crop soil from the potting bench, adding to each barrowload a peck each of 

 cultivated in the kitchen garden, and few vegetables are more in request, soot, lime, and wood ashes, thoroughly mixing them before use. After the 



,T1 f ™ - - ■ - ^ — •« S eed is sown cover it with similar material. When raking down it is 



absolutely necessary that the surface should be made as fine as it is 

 possible to make it, first working with a wooden rake, and then finish- 

 ing with an iron one. Birds are often very troublesome when the seeds 

 begin to germinate, and when once they take to them they generally 

 ruin the whole crop, unless steps are taken to protect them. Garde 

 netting stretched over iron hoops is the neatest and best mode of pro- 

 tection. No time should be lost in thinning out the seedlings. Water 

 freely in dry weather, and dust over once a week with soot and wood ashes, 



and once a fortnight give a slight dressing with some artificial manure. 



Turnips ought never to be very large when exhibited, yet this is fre- 

 quently the case ; medium-sized roots are best, no matter what the 

 variety. The skin should be perfectly clear, the tap root small, and the 

 rind quite tender, so that the thumb-nail may easily penetrate it. Care- 

 fulness in preparing and washing them must be observed, as the better the 

 specimens the more easily they are damaged, and then the least scratch 

 will be noticeable a short time after. For washing, a brush should not 

 be used, but soak the turnips in cold water for half an hour, and then 

 remove the dirt carefully with a soft sponge, rinsing the roots well in clean 

 water. All the small rootlets should be carefully trimmed away, but not 



August, some trouble will be experienced in producing it fit for table. 

 Almost any kind of land will grow good turnips, but a shallow, sandy soil 

 is about the most unsuitable during the summer months. The very best 

 turnips I have ever been able to produce were grown on a stiff clay in the 

 gardens here, but not without some little trouble in the preparation of the 

 ground. Fortunately we have now a much better selection than our 

 fathers had, especially among the early varieties. Quick growth is at all 



times most essential, as without it the bulbs will be hard and strong 

 in flavour. 



The first sowing should be made under glass the first week in January 

 on a very mild hotbed, which should be composed of leaves, and the 

 heat should be well on the decline ; indeed, it should be pretty well 

 exhausted before sowing the seed, as the effect of the glass will be almost 

 sufficient with covering in severe weather to promote a sufficiently free 

 growth. One foot of soil of a light, porous nature should be placed on 

 the leaves, and the seed should be sown in drills nine inches apart, 

 thinning the seedlings to six inches when large enough. Small and 

 frequent sowings should be made in this way rather than large quantities. the ta P root - Thls m *y either be cut off on the morning of the show, 

 Air freely on all favourable occasions, syringe, and shut up early in the or left on at th e pleasure of the exhibitor. Personally I like to see them 

 afternoon, and do not allow the plants to suffer from want of water at the cut off > unless they are particularly small and clear, when they add some- 

 roots. If suitable varieties are cultivated in this way they will be found ^ hat t0 the appearance of the roots. The bulbs should be wrapped up 

 invaluable for early supplies. ! n white tissue paper (on no account use printed), and packed carefully 



x?*-u, T7~u_ *t ti. n lU*. * m wood-wool. Nine or twelve is generally the required number for a 



Early ra February, or as soon as the weather, will permit, the first dish> and they shou , d be ^ much ^ a$ ^3^^ the roots look 



best when arranged neatly on a dish well garnished with good parsley. 

 They should be kept covered till the last moment 



The varieties I can strongly recommend for frame culture and the 

 earliest sowings outside are both Early Red and White Milan. They 

 are both very quick growing, and of good flavour when used small, and 

 for very early shows are unequalled. For later spring sowings Carter's 

 Jersey Lily is one of the most handsome and best flavoured turnips that 

 I am acquainted with ; for exhibition purposes it is simply perfect. 

 Sutton's Snowball is also excellent for all purposes. Veitch's Red Globe 

 is a first-rate summer turnip, and stands better in dry weather than any 

 other I know, though it is not quite so handsome for exhibition as some. 

 For all later sowings I recommend Jersey Lily and Snowball. Chirk 

 Castle, or Black Stone, is a particularly hardy variety, and a small sowing 

 should always be made of it about the middle of August 



Aldenham Park Gardens. Edwin Beckett. 



sowing should be made outside on a south border on well-prepared 

 ground, which should have been trenched during autumn, but not 

 manured. Simply fork over and rake down the ground to a fine tilth, 

 and sow in shallow drills ten inches asunder, thinning out the crop to 

 six inches apart The ground should be kept constantly stirred with 

 the Dutch hoe during April and May. The seed may be sown on well- 

 prepared ground in any open part of the garden, making the sowings 

 frequent and small in dry weather; the drills should be thoroughly dusted 

 over with soot and wood ashes. The young plants ought not to be 

 allowed to become drawn, but should be subjected to a double thinning, 

 leaving them the first time about as thick again as required till they are 

 well into the rough leaf. Before their final thinning water thoroughly in 

 the evening in hot, dry weather, and in showery weather apply small 

 dressings of artificial manure. The ground can hardly be stirred too 

 often with the Dutch hoe ; indeed, every encouragement should be given 



to promote a quick and healthy growth. 



June, and J 



generally give the most trouble, and in very hot, dry seasons it is almost 

 impossible to produce turnips fit to eat unless some extra care and atten- 

 tion be bestowed on them, for in addition to the turnip fly, which is most 

 active and destructive in hot weather, the plants refuse to make a free 

 growth when fully exposed to the sun, so that it is absolutely necessary 

 to select a cool, shady part of the garden for the sowings and to afford 

 temporary shading from the time the seed is sown until the plants are 

 thinned and in the rough leaf. Unless the weather should be dull and 

 showery, shade the seed beds with mats, or any suitable material ; after 

 the first three days this should be removed early in the evening, when 

 the beds should receive a good watering, the shading being replaced 

 during the daytime, and this should be repeated each day till after the 

 plants are finally thinned. It will be necessary to keep the crop well 

 supplied with water, which ought always to be given in the evening, and 



soot and wood 



ashes. 



July 



winter sowings should be made, and it is a good plan to sow every ten 

 days ; the weather has such influence on the growth of the turnips that 

 it is not wise to depend on any one sowing. I have known the Septem- 

 ber sowing prove to be the most useful for winter use, indeed only last 

 winter (1897-98) this was the case, and the roots actually grew the whole 

 winter through, and even when the roots fail to be of any use as such 

 they are valuable for supplying greenstuff during spring. The smaller the 

 roots the less likely are they to be harmed in severe weather. Hoe fre- 

 quently and apply soot and artificial manure during showery weather, 

 The whole of the turnip crop ought not to be left to the mercy of the 

 weather, or many bulbs will be spoilt in sharp seasons. I advise lifting 

 a good portion of the largest examples in early winter, trimming the 

 leaves off, but not too hard, and leaving on the tap root. These are best 

 stored in clumps in the open, but in no case must they be heaped 

 together in large quantities, or they will heat and spoil I have found 

 them keep well when placed in layers, alternating with soil or cinder 

 ashes, building the clump up ridge shape and covering all with a little 

 straw and about three inches of soil The remaining part of the crop 

 can be protected in ordinary winters by drawing a little of the soil over 

 the roots with the hoe. 



The turnip is of considerable importance to exhibitors of vegetables, 

 and at some seasons of the year it is of great service, though, generally 

 speaking, in my opinion, too much value is attached to it, as I consider 

 the time of year and season should be taken into consideration. Of 

 course, I am referring now to turnips shown in collections of vegetables. 

 I know of no vegetable more easily produced during a good spring or 

 autumn, and I consider it unjust to compare turnips with other vege- 

 tables that are more difficult to produce. To obtain turnips of the 



a r.f Avrpllpnre reauires, like many other things, some extra 



The Amateur Question. 



" Confusion becomes worse confounded n under Mr. Taylor's insistence upon 

 such hard and fast lines. It comes to this, that in his opinion no one is an amateur 

 who does not come under the definition of one as laid down by the National 

 Amateur Gardeners' Association. That appears to me to be an intolerable and 

 most unjust narrowing of the term amateur, because any amateur who raises seed- 

 lings, however valuable they may be, is precluded from selling them ; if he does 

 so he ceases to be an amateur. As a member of the National Chrysanthemum 

 Society I have been labouring under the impression that the definition of an 

 amateur as set forth in the society's schedule was based upon that of the N.A.G.S., 

 if not identical with it ; and that permits amateurs to sell new seedlings and sports. 

 I do not think it would be at all difficult to procure documentary evidence that 

 there are members of the N. A. G.S. who do sell 41 new seedlings or sports." I 

 should not be in the le*st surprised to find there are some among the 

 members who sell sub rosd, lot human nature, even among amateurs, is by no 

 means perfect ; and hard and fast lines in the narrowest sense will operate to raise 

 the old Adam in a man, and lead him to resort to evasions. There are many 

 definitions of an amateur extant, and all more or less differing, and to lay down 

 one that shall commend itself to everyone is a practical impossibility. One of 

 the most sensible and acceptable definitions of an amateur is that to be found in 

 the schedule of prizes of the Torquay District Gardeners' Association. It is as 

 follows : — ^ V 



Rule XIII. For the purpose of these Exhibitions the word Amateur excludes 

 the following : — 



(a) Nurserymen. 



(b) Those who grow purposely for sale. 



(c) Those who professedly offer their garden produce for sale. 

 \d) Those professionally employed by any of the above. 



A casual selling of any surplus stock is not to be considered as disqualifying 

 anyone from exhibiting as an Amateur. 



Would anyone be bold enough to assert, because the Duke of Westminster 

 or Mr. Leopold de Rothschild sells off such foals from their brood mares that they 

 know cannot be trained, that therefore they are professional horse dealers? 

 Neither of these, nor the amateur who sells a few surplus plants during a brief 

 period of the year, becomes a trader in the generally accepted sense of the word. 

 A trader is one who makes what he sells the chief or sole means of livelihood. A 

 casual sale is, in the large majority of cases, simply the means by which a person 

 of limited means who loves flowers for theii own sakes, and by selling some surplus 

 plants is provided with the means by which he can add expensive novelties to his 

 collection. An act of barter or exchange with a nurseryman is just as much a 

 trading transaction as if actual money changed bands, and it seems to me to lie an 

 ignoble evasion of the hard and fast lines Mr. Taylor would impose upon all claim- 



A Westerner. 



ing to be amateurs 



One for his Nob.— Winter Strawberry (to Giant Gooseberry) • 

 chap, I think I've knocked you out this time." [The gathering 

 strawberries is reported from all parts of the country— Daily Paper.] 



11 1 say, old 



of dishes of 



-Punch. 



