148 
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
is a saving of time to fill a basket and send it to the kitchen 
for the cook to dip into as demands arise. Before storing cut 
off the tops and tails, but never wash the bulbs. 
Substitutes for Turnips. — There are two good substitutes 
for turnips which must be noticed here. If the winter store is 
exhausted, and there is no prospect of securing a crop in time 
to keep up the succession, a brisk hotbed should be made up 
with six inches of rich light soil for a seed bed, and a sowing 
made of common White Turnip Radish. These will “turn 
in” quickly, and may be served as turnips. Though small, 
they will be elegant, and, if carefully cooked, as delicate as 
the most perfect crop of frame-grown turnips. The other 
substitute will answer for autumn and winter use on heavy 
soils where turnips do not thrive. It is the Kolil-rabi , or 
Knol-hohl, a plant intermediate between a turnip and a 
cabbage. This must be sown in March, April, and May, and 
planted out when large enough to handle, in just the same way 
as winter greens. The bulb is formed above ground, and is 
strikingly marked with the point of attachment (hilum) of 
every separate leaf stalk, in precisely the same way as w T e see 
the old stump of a cabbage marked, and those frail walking- 
sticks” that are made of the stems of Jersey cabbages. When 
cooked (without peeling off the rind), in the same manner as 
the turnip, this is a first class root, the flavour similar to that 
of the turnip, but richer, and somewhat nutty and buttery, 
and the flesh is as soft as marrow. We have always obtained 
our best supplies of Kohl-rabi from the later sowings, pre- 
ferring small to large roots for the table, but those who want 
large roots must sow early. The best sorts are the Purple 
and the Green , and of the two we prefer the latter. 
Chemical Constitution. — The nutritive value of the turnip 
is of little consequence, while we are regarding it as a table 
vegetable only. As a matter of course, in common with all 
foods that are prepared by boiling , the nutritive properties of 
the turnip are in great part washed awmy and lost. The only 
practical advices that can be given on that point are that 
they should be cooked whole, and that they should be dished 
the instant they become sufficiently tender ; for, although v r e 
may be careless as to their powers of nourishing, the more they 
are cooked the more completely is their fresh and relishing 
flavour destroyed. But the chemical constituents of the 
turnip should be taken note of by the cultivator, as affording 
