TURNIP. 175 
of a severe famine, bread is stated to have been made 
of turnips in several parts of England, particularly in 
the county of Essex. The process was to put the tur- 
nips into a kettle over a slow fire, till they became 
soft; they were then taken out, squeezed as dry as 
possible, mixed with an equal quantity of flour, and, 
after having been kneaded with yeast, salt, and a little 
warm water, were made into loaves and baked. In 
bread thus made the peculiar taste of the turnip is said 
to be scarcely perceptible. 
These roots have been much recommended as sea 
store, from the possibility, with care, of preserving 
them for a great length of time uninjured, and from their 
furnishing an agreeable and wholesome food for sailors 
on long voyages. The young and tender tops of turnips, 
when boiled, afford an agreeable substitute for greens. 
For the cultivation of turnips a light soil, particularly 
such as consists of a mixture of sand and loam, is found 
Preferable to rich and heavy land. Turnips are raised 
om seed, which it has long been the established cus- 
tom to sow in the month of June. As soon as the young 
plants have attained a tolerable size, they are hoed, for 
the purpose of thinning them. In their growth they 
suffer much by the attacks of slugs, caterpillars, and 
insects of different kinds, particularly of a small, dark 
beetle with two longitudinal yellowish stripes (Ckyso- 
mela nemorum}, which is called by farmers the turnip- 
fly. For the destruction of this insect many plans 
have, at different times, been devised. 
Turnips are either eaten on the land by cattle, or are 
drawn out and stacked, or preserved under ground for 
winter use ; and, in this state, they may be kept sound 
till April. 
There are several kinds of turnips; but of these the 
common 'white, or Norfolk turnips, and the Ruta-baga^ or 
Swedish turnips, are the principal. The latter, which 
indeed constitute a distinct species, are generally of 
a yellowish colour, and are so hardy as to suffer no 
injury even from the most intense cold ; but their sub- 
