I have spoken of gigantic asparagus; the 
Jews had radishes that could vie with them, 
if it be true that a fox and cubs could bur¬ 
row in the hollow of one, and that it was 
not uncommon to grow them of a hundred 
pounds in weight. It must have been such 
radishes as these were employed by seditious 
mobs of old, as weapons, in insurrections, 
In such case a rebellious people were always 
well victualled, and had peculiar facilities, 
not only to beat their adversaries, but to eat 
their own arms. The horse-radish is. prob¬ 
ably. a descendant of this gigantic ancestor. 
It had. at one period, a gigantic reputation. 
Dipped in poison, it rendered the draught 
innocuous, and, rubbed on the hands, it 
made an encounter with venomed serpents 
mere play. In short, it was celebrated as 
being a cure for every evil in life,—the only 
exception being, that it destroyed the teeth. 
There was far more difference of opinion 
touching garlic than there was touching the 
radish. The Egyptians deified it, as they 
did the leek and the cabbage; the Greeks 
devot ed it to Gehenna,—and to soldiers and 
sailors. Medicinally, it was held to be use¬ 
ful in many diseases, if the root used were 
originally sown when the moon was below 
the horizon. one who had eaten < f it. 
however, could presume to enter the Teni- 
ple of Cybele. Alphonso ot Castile was as 
particular as this goddess; and a knight of 
Castile, “detected as being guilty of garlic,” 
suffered banishment from the royal presence 
during an entiie month. 
Turnips. 
SCjiHE season for the growth of Turnips is 
“j so short that they fit into a garden nit e- 
ly as a second, crop, so that there need be 
scarcely any vacant spots during the latter 
part of summer. After the early Potatoes 
and Peas have been removed, some of the 
varieties of the Sweedish Turnips (another 
name for improv’d old-fashioned Rutabagas) 
may be planted as late as the middle of July. 
They will have ample time, if well hoed, to 
grow to a good table size. Overgrown Tur¬ 
nips are not desirable for the table, as they 
are coarse and pithy. Early planted ones 
brill’s yellow rutabaga. 
are objectionable for the same reasons. 
There are white and yellow varieties of 
Swi des. nearly all globe-shaped, the Brill’s 
Improved American, Shamrock, and White 
French being among the best. All Turnips 
of the Ruta Baga class should be planted in 
drills, with the plants from ten to fifteen 
inches apart and the rows from eight?ento 
twenty-four. 
PURPLE-TOP STRAP-LEAP TURNIP. 
The Flat Turnips, of which the Purple 
Top Strap-Leaf is the best known, as well 
