Tomato Catsup— 1 Turnep. 
91 
There are but few who relish the tomato at 
the first taste; and few who are not extremely 
fond of it when properly cooked and they be¬ 
come accustomed to it. It is considered by 
physicians and others acquainted with its effects, 
not only a very delicious, but a very wholesome 
vegetable ; indeed some will give a decided pre¬ 
ference to a dish of tomato sauce or a tomato 
pie, when properly prepared, to any thing of 
the kind in the vegetable kingdom. There is 
no vegetable more easily raised, and none better 
pay the cultivator where they are generally 
known. They are used in various ways, either 
raw, with sugar, or stewed for sauce, or in fri- 
casses and soups ; for catsup or gravy, for meat 
and for pies or preserves, as well as for pickles 
and sweet-meats. 
For the information of those not acquainted 
with the tomato , who may wish to try the ex¬ 
periment, we give the following directions for 
preparing and cooking them. Take them when 
ripe and red, dip them into scalding water, and 
take off all the skin, cut them in quarters and 
scrape out the seeds; then put them into a clean 
stew-pan and let them simmer about fifteen 
minutes, then put in a little butter and pepper, 
stir them a few minutes and they are done. 
Some prefer adding some crumbs of wheat 
bread or grated crackers. For pies or preserves 
the tomato requires a little more sugar than the 
peach to make it equally palatable. The pro¬ 
cess of making is much the same as with other 
fruit. Tomatoes may be preserved fresh by 
covering them with sugar. The green fruit is 
often pickled, like the cucumber or pepper. 
When prepared according to the following di¬ 
rections they make an excellent sauce or gravy 
for meat or fish. 
To make Tomato Catsup. -Collect the 
fruit when fully ripe, before any frosts appear, 
squeeze or bruise them well, and boil them 
slowly for half an hour, then strain them through 
a cloth, and put in salt, pepper and spices to suit 
the taste, then boil again and take off the scum 
that rises, so as to leave the liquor in its pure 
state; keep it boiling slowly until about one-third 
of the juice is diminished, then let it cool and 
put it into clear glass bottles, corked tight and 
kept in a cool, place for use. After standing 
awhile, should any sediment appear in the bot¬ 
tles, the liquor should be poured off into other 
bottles, and again corked tight. 
Turnep. —The early fiat turnep may be 
sown for early use in March or April—also in 
May and June for summer use, as those sown 
early become rather tough and stringy, and run 
up to seed in the latter part of the season. They 
may be sown broad-cast or in drills, fifteen or 
sixteen inches apart, and thinned out to three or 
four inches distant in the rows; and if the soil 
is good, light and mellow, they will thrive well, 
and afford a healthy and nourishing variety to 
other summer vegetables. The Flat Field tur* 
nep is the most suitable for fall and winter use, 
and should not be sown till the last of July or 
first of August, or still later; many prefer the 
10th of August. In a favorable season they 
will do well if sown the last of August or first 
of September; they have indeed been found to 
be much sweeter and better in the southern part 
of this State than those sown earlier. But with 
us it is not safe to sow so late, as the cold season 
may set in early, and stop their growth. 
Newly cleared land is found to be the best 
for these, as it generally produces the largest 
and sweetest turneps, and they are less exposed 
to the depredations of insects. A sandy or gra¬ 
velly loam is reckoned the most favorable soil, 
and they will generally do well if sown on a 
green sward that has been turned up to a good 
depth the preceding spring, and yarded with 
cattle or sheep, with repeated harrowing during 
the time, in order to mix the manure with the 
soil. Before sowing, plow the ground again, 
make it smooth and level with harrowing, and 
at a time when the ground is sufficiently moist¬ 
ened with rain, sow your seed broad cast or in 
drills, as you choose; but care should be taken 
not to sow too thick, and even then they will 
doubtless require a considerable thinning. If 
sown broad-cast, it will require more labor to 
thin them out and keep them clear from weeds, 
though the first labor will not be so much as 
sowing in drills. They should be thinned to 
the distance of six or eight inches. 
Turneps are often injured by the ravages of 
a small black fly, which in the quickness of its 
motions very much resembles a flea. Against 
this there are various preventives recommend¬ 
ed. There is perhaps none better than that 
mentioned by Abercrombie , which is, to soak 
the seed in sulphur water, at the rate of an ounce 
of sulphur to a pint of water, which will be 
sufficient for soaking three pounds of seed.— 
Some recommend sowing ashes or lime over 
the ground after the seed has come up. This 
will generally have a good effect if sowed when 
the dew is on. 
If boiled in water with corned or salted meat, 
(which is a common practice in many families,) 
they should not be peeled at all. Turneps 
raised in a suitable soil, will be fair and smooth, 
and of a sweet flavor, and when first pulled, 
will wash white and clean without peeling 
After being gathered and stowed away in the 
cellar awhile, the dirt adheres to them; they 
may then be put into a pail of warm water, so 
as to moisten the skin, and scraped with a knife, 
and washed clean, fit for the pot, without the 
