V 
JOURNAL  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  19,  1903. 
156 
been  cultivated  in  Britain  during  the  Roman  occupation, 
and  afterwards  never,  perhaps,  wholly  lost  to  cultivation. 
At  any  rate,  it  has  long  been  apparent  that  the  historian 
Hume  was  utterly  at  fault  in  stating  that  till  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  no  “  salads,  Carrots,  Turnips,  or  other 
edible  roots  were  produced  in  England.”  Professor  Earle, 
in  vocabularies  of  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries,  shows 
that  the  Turnip — Rapa^was,  known  as  Nsep,  a  word  long  in 
da'ily  use  as  an  English  equivalent,  and  still  common  in 
■Scotland,  where  Neeps  is  the  usual  name  for  Turnips. 
Moreover,  the  plant  can  be  traced  down  the  centuries,  as 
in  a  cookery  book  of  the  days  of  Chaucer,  and  in  the  suc¬ 
ceeding  century  in  a  Sloan  MS.  w'hich  contains  a  list  of 
garden  plants  then  in  everyday  use,  the  whole  or  part  of 
which  has  been  j^ublished  on  several  occasions.  For  our 
purpose  it  is  sufficient  to  remark  that  “  Rapez,”  the  leaves 
of  the  plant,  appears  among  “  herbes  for  Potage,”  and 
“  Turnepez  ”  among  “  Rootes  for  a  Garden.” 
During  a  lengthened  period  the  terms  Rapes,  Turnes,-^ 
Turneps,  Nepes,  Napes,  and  Navews  were  occasionally  used 
interchangeably.  Even  Roman  authors  exhibit  a  difficulty 
in  identifying  Rapum  and  Napum.  Some  thought  they 
were  derived  from  the  seed,  any  difference  being  the  result 
of  soil  or  of  cultivation.  But  Rapum  was  certainly  applied 
to  the  plant  with  a  round  flattened  root,  Napum  to  that 
with  an  elongated  one. 
In  England,  however,  the  evidence  points  to  Rape, 
while  on  occasion  indicating  the  whole  plant,  as  being  also 
applied  more  particularly  to  the  foliage,  whether  of  the 
globrdar-rooted,  which  was  called  Turnep  or  Turne,  or  that 
w’ith  elongated  roots  which  was  called  Napes  or  Navews. 
These  distinctions  are  present  in  several  sixteenth  century 
publications,  as  in  Lyte’s  Herbal,  where  in  one  sentence  it 
is  recorded  that  “  The  broth  of  Rapes  is  good  ”  for  a  pur¬ 
pose  he  names,  “and  so  is  the  Navew*  or  Turnep  itselfe.” 
Gerarde,  who  describes  quite  a  number  of  plants  as 
Rapes  declares  that  “  The  Turnep  is  called  in  Enghsh 
Turnep  and  Rape,”  and  “  The  bulbous  or  knobbed  root 
which  is  properly  called  Rapum  or  Turnep,  hath  given  the 
name  to  the  plant.”  Tusser,  on  the  other  hand,  records 
Navews,  Rapes,  and  Turnips  as  distinct  kinds  of  vegetables. 
Finally,  in  this  connection,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  modern 
spelling  of  Turnip  first  occurs  in  A¥orlidge’s  “  Systema  Hor- 
ticultura”  (1677),  but  this  seems  to  have  been  a  solitary 
exception  as  the  “  e  ”  continued  in  use  long  afterwards. 
But  Turnips  as  a  species  were  not  alone  cultivated  ;  they 
w’ere  gi’own  in  several  varieties,  no  doubt  the  ancestors  in 
a  direct  line  of  the  types  still  in  cultivation,  and  they  w’ere 
grown  not  only  in  private  gardens, -but  they  formed  one  of 
the  commonest  crops  in  market  gardens,  where  thej^  appear 
to  have  been  treated  to  field  culture.  Gerarde,  for  instance, 
records  the  high  quality  of  the  Turnips  sold  in  Cheapside 
that  were  brought  from  Hackney.  Speed,  a  writer  of  a 
little  later  date,  also  commends  the  Hackney  variety  as  the 
one  most  worthy  of  cultivation.  '  White,  yellow,  and  red 
sorts  were  early  recognised,  but  the  . two  latter  w’ere  not  so 
popular  as  the  white  kinds.  It  would  appear  that  it  was 
only  in  the  vicinity  of  London  that  Turnips  were  sowm  in 
spring.  Parkinson  and  many  other  writers  state  the  seeds 
were  sown  in  the  end  of  July  and  beginning  of  August  to 
have  their  roots,  best' to  spend  in  wunter,  and  it  was  usual  to 
lift  the  roots  and  store  them  in  sand  during  the  winter 
season  in  the  same  manner  as  Beetroot  is  treated  in  these 
days.  Radishes  and.  Lettuces  occupied  the  ground  as  an 
early  crop,  while  in  a  plan  of  a  kitchen  garden  in  Lang¬ 
ley’s  “  Principles,”  Turnips  are  marked  as  following  early 
Cabbages.  Reid  in  1683  mentions  sowing  them  in  the 
north  of  Scotland  as  early  as  “  Aprile,”  but  he  takes  care 
to  say  he  does  not  recommend  the  practice. 
Turnips  were  sown  broadcast  alike  in  gardens,  market 
gardens,  and  in  fields,  until  in  the  case  of  the  latter,  Tull 
introduced  sowfing  in  ridges.  Slightly  previous,  however, 
they  Avere  for  a  wffiile  lined  on  the  flat.  During  a  very  long 
period  it  Avould  appear  that  the  seedlings  Avere  thinned  by 
hand — Avhen  thinned  at  all.  Towards  the  end  of  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century,  hoAA^ever,  the  practice  of  thinning,  or 
“singling”  Turnips  by  means  of  hoes  Avas  adopted,  find  for 
a  long  time  the  labourers  engaged  in  kitchen  gardens  held  a 
monopoly  of  this  Avork,  being  permitted  to  leave  for  the  time 
their  proper  work,  and  perambulating  the  country  in  squads 
of  six  or  seven  persons,  they  thinned  the  fields  of  Turnips 
at  so  much  an  acre. 
I  have  already  noted  that  the  foliage  of  Turnips  Avas 
boiled  in  pottage,  and  a  relation  of  the  various  uses  to  Avhich 
the  plant  Avas  put  .in  bygone  times  Avill  prove  that  Ave  lag 
in  the  rear  in  our  appreciation  of  this  vegetable.  The  . 
simplest  way  of  using  the  Turnip  as  a  food  Avas  doubtless 
that  of  eating  it  uncooked.  The  Welsh  are’  said  to  have 
eaten  raAA'  Turnips,  and  on  the  Continent  ceidain  peoples 
relied  upon  them  more  than  on  corn.  But  by_far  the  most 
interesting  notice  of  its  use  in  an  uncooked  condition  occurs 
in  Justice’s  “  Scots  Gardener’s  Director,”  Avhere  he  states, 
that  the  Early  Dutch  “  is  AAffiat  is  mostly  used  in  this 
country  for  early  crops  and  for  eating  raw  in  May  and  June, 
of  Avhich  people  here  are  very  fond.”  Justice,  though 
employed  in  laAv  business,  inherited  fairly  large  properties 
and  a  country  house  in  Midlothian,  so  that  there  is  no 
reason  to  suspect  his  veracity.  The  seed-leaves,  too,  pro¬ 
duced  in  the  same  Avay  as  Mustard,  have  been  eaten  Avith  it 
and  other  herbs  as  a  salad. 
In  a  cooked  state  it  Avas  prepared  and  used  in  a  A’arietj 
of  ways.  The  stalks  in  spring  were  selected,  and  after  being 
cut  into  suitable  lengths  and  peeled,  Avere  cooked  as  a  sub¬ 
stitute  for  Asparagus.  Bread  was  rnade  of  Turnips  at  an 
early  period,  and  to  Evelyn  Ave  are  indebted  for  a  recipe  for 
Turnip  bread,  Avhich,  he  remarks,  he  had  eaten  at  the  best 
tables.  The  method  is  given  fully  in  “  Philosophical  Trans¬ 
actions,”  vol.  xvii. 
A  not  uncommon  mode  of  preparing  the  roots  Avas  to 
wwap  them  in  a  piece  of  paper,  to  be  placed  under  the 
gloAving  embers  till  roasted,  afterwards  eating  them  Avith 
sugar  and  buttei-.  Treated  in  this  manner  they  lost  most  of 
their  “  AAundy  ”  properties.  It  Avould  appear  from  Speed 
that  Turnips  Avere  occasionally  employed  in  cider-making, 
not  improbably  in  order  to  eke  out  a  shortened  supply  of 
Apples  ;  but  this  must  have  been  an  early  custom,  as  none 
of  the  seventeenth  century  Avriters  on  cider  refer  to  it. 
It  is  curious  that  the  Turnip  as  a  field  crop  Avas  so  long 
in  being  cultivated.  Worlidge’s  “  Mystery  of  Husbandry 
(1669)  shoAvs  the  advantages  that  Avould  follow  its  cultiva¬ 
tion,  and  it  Avas  some  time  after  ere  it  became  generally 
recognised  as  a  field  crop,  and  then  it  could  n-ot  by  any 
stretch  of  courtesy  be  said  to  have  been  cultivated,  because 
the  seeds  Avere  soAvn  on  Barley-stubble,  harroAved  in,  and 
thereafter  left  to  chance. 
Better  methods  Avere,  hoAvever  rapidly  developed. 
General  statistics  mention  the  year  1740  as  that  of  its  intro¬ 
duction  into  Scotland,  Avhere,  in  a  field  near  Melrose,  it  Avas 
sown  that  year,  but  so  thick,  and  not  being  thinne'd,  as  to 
disgust  the  farmer.  But  long  before  this  the  Turnip  had 
been  tried,  as,  for  instance  b.v  Cockburn  of  Ormiston,  aboufi 
1725,  and  by  his  cousin,  the  Earl  of  Haddington.  The  Swede 
Turnip  is  said  to  have  been  introduced  by  Linnaeus,  who', 
sent  seeds  in  an  envelope  to  Dickson,  the  famous  Perth  . 
nurseryman,  in  1772.  It  came,  or  Avas  distributed,  as  Ruta 
Baga,  and  to  this  day  the  SAvede  Turnip,  not  infrequently 
cultivated  as  a  garden  crop,  is  commonly  knoAvn  on  the 
Scottish  border  as  “  The  Baigie,”  and  in  Fifeshire,  Avhere 
the  old  pronunciation  is  retained,  “  The  Baagie.” — R.  P. 
Brotherston. 
France,  Canada,  and  the  Apple  Supply. 
The  way  in  Avhich  Canada  is  forging  ahead  in  placing  he;; 
produce  on  the  markets  of  the  Avorld  has  caused  the  French 
Consular  Agent  at  Liverpool  to  make  comparisons  betAveen  the 
quantities  of  Apples  and  Pears  sujAplied  to  Great  Britain  by 
Canada  and  France  respectively,  and  apparently  the  figures  are 
causing  a  certain  amount  of  misgiving  in  the  French  breast: 
Owing  largely  to  the  general  use  of  refrigerating  apparatus  on 
the  big  vessels  the  Canadian  goods  noAv  arrive  in  splendid  con¬ 
dition.  Complaints  formerly  Avere  common  about  the  bad 
condition  of  the  fruit  on  arrival  here,  but,  thanks  to  the  Canadian 
Fruit  Marks  Act,  they  are  not  likely  to  be  reviA'ed.  This. Act 
prohibits  the  exportation  of  any  fruit  under  the  de.scription 
of  first  quality  if  90  per  cent,  of  it  does  not  conform  in  size,' 
colour,  and  savour  to  a  cei'tain  specified  standard.  In  cases  of 
infraction  of  this  laAv  the  departure  of  the  cargo  may,  not  bo 
stopped,  but  the  Minister  of  Agriculture  reserves  the  right  of 
instituting  proceedings  against  the  delinquents.  A  rigorous 
process  of  inspection  is  carried  out  by  the  Dominion  agents,  not 
only  at  the  port  of  shipment,  but  also  on  the  arrival  of  the 
fruit  at  Liverpool.  '  During  the  passage  the  greatest  precautions 
are  taken,  under  the  direction  of  experienced  men,  to  ensure 
an  even  temperature,  and  Avith  success,;  for  the  thermometer 
placed  in  the  cold  chamber  rarely  registers  a  v'ariation  of  anoae 
than  2deg  F.  These  facts  may  give  qualms  to  our  French  friends, 
but  they  need  not  despair.  ‘  -  » 
