388 BOTANY AS APPLIED TO VETERINARY SCIENCE. 
ties in cultivation have been obtained, viz., the common white 
turnip and the Swedish turnip. 
They both belong to the tribe Brassica , which has the fol¬ 
lowing distinguishing characters, viz.,pod two valved (with a 
sterile or one- or several-seeded beak) 3 seeds in a single row, 
calyx erect. The name is derived from the Celtic bresic (mo¬ 
dern Gaelic praiseacli ), a kind of cabbage, or rather pottage 
made of it. (. Hooker and Arnott.) 
Brassica rapa (common white turnip). Root orbicular or 
oblong, fleshy, radical leaves lyrate, scabrous, not glaucous, 
lower stem-leaves incised, upper ones cordato-ovate, accumi- 
nate, amplexicaul smooth. (. Hooker and Arnott.) 
In this somewhat insignificant-looking plant, which is 
found growing wild in the hedgerow’s and w r aste places in many 
parts of the country, few- would recognise the original source 
of nearly all our common w-hite turnips. It is in its natural 
state a biennial, but this is much interfered with when brought 
into cultivation. It varies much in height, according to the 
state of the land upon which it is grown; and flow-ers about 
April or May, having yellow flowers. The large bulbous 
part of the plant, commonly called its root, is in reality its 
underground stem. The general characters of the turnip are 
sufficiently familiar to us all, so as not to need a minute de¬ 
scription. The bulbs are exceedingly valuable as food for 
animals, especially sheep, although not to the same extent as 
the Swedish turnip ; they are also much prized for culinary 
purposes, and in times of scarcity prove a valuable source of 
human food, when mixed with flour and made into bread. 
This was brought to bear in this country during the years 
1629 and 1630, and also during the famine in Ireland. The 
following is an analysis of the common w T hite globe, by Dr. 
Voelcker: 
Water 
Flesh-forming substances 
Fattv substances 
«/ 
Sugar, pectin, gum, &c. 
Woody fibre 
Inorganic matters (ash) 
90*430 
1- 143 
not determined. 
5-457 
2- 342 
0-628 
From the above it will be seen that it contains a very large 
per-centage of water. This fact should be constantly- borne 
in mind by the agriculturist, so that other more solid 
material should be given to counteract the injurious effects 
that plants containing so much water are apt to produce, 
such as sanguineous ascites, &c., &c. 
Brassica campestris (Swedish turnip).—Boot fusiform, slender, 
and annual in the wild plant, often turnip-shaped and bien- 
