418 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jonx, 1899. 
TURNIPS. 
The turnip (Bressica rapa) is a hardy biennial, a native of Europe, and 
has been cultivated for garden purposes for over 2,000 years. The smaller 
kinds of turnips, which are usually either white or reddish in colour, are those 
chiefly grown in gardens, the large Swede turnips being strictly speaking a field 
crop, although they are by no means to be despised in the garden. There are 
many different varieties of garden turnips, but most of them are pretty much 
alike in flavour and size. 
Turnips succeed best in cool, moist situations, but may be grown during 
the winter in many parts of Queensland ; some varieties even may be had all 
the year round, except in the very hottest part of the summer. 
Well-worked, moderately rich soil will grow good turnips. 
' The drills may be from 16 inches to 2 feet or more apart, and about 1 inch 
or 14 inches deep. 
Thin out the plants to 4 or 6 inches, and cultivate well whilst growing. 
Turnips are sometimes attacked by aphides, which, if not checked, spread 
with alarming rapidity, and will soon exterminate a whole field. Spraying with 
kerosene emulsion or tobacco water, on first noticing the pest, will usually 
effectually get rid of it. 
The same grub or larva, which is so destructive to young cabbage plants, 
frequently attacks turnips in the warm weather; and sometimes a whole crop 
will be cleared off in a few days by this pest. The best remedy is spraying with 
Paris green ; care being taken, however, that the turnips are not used for some 
time after spraying. 
BEET ROOT 
The beet root (Beta vulgaris) is a biennial plant indigenous to the Mediter- 
ranean countries of Europe, to Northern Africa, and to Western Asia. This 
vegetable has been cultivated from very ancient times, and when it was first 
grown artificially is unknown. 
The best beets are grown in fairly dry, rich, sandy loam soils; but good 
beet may be grown in almost any kind of soil, provided it is well broken up, and 
not of too stiff and clayey a nature. 
As in the case of the carrot and parsnip, fresh new manure should never 
be used for beet root. If manuring is necessary, it should be done some time 
before the seed is sown, and well mixed with the soil. 'The seed may be sown 
for the winter crop in February or March, and for the summer crop In August 
or September ; or by sowing a little every 6 weeks or so, a constant supply ean 
be kept up all the year round. 
Sow in the same way as turnips, and thin out to 8 or 9 inches, When thinning 
the plants, any blank spaces which may occur in the rows can be filled up, as 
beet stands transplanting well. There are two kinds of beet grown as garden 
crops—namely, the Red Beets (which may be either turnip-rooted or long- 
rooted) and-the Silver Beets. 
Of the former, only the roots are used, chiefly in the form of salads, and 
of the latter the leaves cooked as spinach form a very palatable dish, especially 
when other vegetables are scarce. They are very hardy, and will live through 
weather that would kill almost any other kind of vegetable. For sowing the 
seeds of all these crops, no better implement can be used than a Planet Junior 
seed drill, which does the work of three men in less time than it could be 
accomplished by any other means. 
A NEGLECTED VEGETABLE. 
Mr. D. O'Connor, Oxley, writing on the subject of the egg-fruit, says :-— 
Although the climate of Queensland is eminently suitable to the production of 
a great variety of vegetables in abundance, our markets are generally very poorly 
supplied; the bringal, ege-fruit, or aubergine being rarely seen. Tt is a 
vegetable of considerable excellence, and has the merit of being hardy and very 
