TURNIP, a biennial plant, with lyrate hispid leaves; the upper part of the root becoming, especially in cultivation, swol len and fleshy. It is a native of Europe and the temperate parts of Asia, grow ing in borders of fields and waste places. It is commonly regarded as a native of Great Britain, though in most cases where it is found apparently wild it may be doubted if it has not derived its origin from cultivated varieties. It has been long cultivated, and is to be found ixi every garden of the temperate and cold parts of the world as a culinary escu lent; it is also extensively grown in fields for feeding cattle and sheep. It was cultivated in India long before it could have been introduced by Euro peans, and is common there in gardens and about villages. The cultivated vari eties are very numerous. In them the upper part of the root assumes a globose, oblong, or roundish depressed form. Some are common to the garden and the farm, and some of the largest kinds at tain such a size as to weigh or 25 pounds. Though the turnip is of great value for feeding stock, it is not very nutritious, no less than 90 to 96 parts of its weight actually consisting of water.
Garden turnips are sown from the end of March to the end of August; field turnips generally in June, it being requisite that they should not be sown so soon as to incur a risk of their throw ing up flower stems in the first year, which, when it takes place, prevel.:s in a great measure the swelling of the root and renders it coarse and fibrous. In dry weather the plants are apt to throw up flower stems, and so disappoint the hope of the gardener. Moist cloudy weather is most favorable. Garden turnips are sown and allowed to grow much closer than field turnips, being gradually thin ' ned out, and the thinnings used even when of small size. The garden turnips are generally of comparatively small size, more rapid in growth, and more delicate. The Swedish turnip, or ruta baga, which was introduced into cultiva tion in Great Britain from the N. of Europe, more recently than the common turnip, and has proved of great value to the farmer, is regarded by some botan ists as a variety of the same species, and by some as a variety of B. napes, but
more generally as a variety of B. cam, pestris, a species common in cornfields and sides of ditches in Great Britain and the N. of Europe.
The cultivated turnip grows best in a rich free soil. The mode of culture varies with the soil. Where the soil is light and dry a smaller amount of plow ing, harrowing, and drilling is necessary than on stiff soils. The turnip is not well suited to clay soils, though it is often grown on them. A complete pulveriza tion of the soil is requisite before the sowing of the seed. On light soils a crop of turnips generally succeeds wheat or oats. Turnip land is generally made up in raised drills by the plow, and the seed is sown by the drilling machine on the top of the narrow ridges, which are about 27 inches wide. Moderate dress ings of artificial manure, such as super phopsphate of lime, crushed or dissolved bones, kainit and nitrate of soda, or other such manures, produce great crops of turnips. The more general practice, however, is to give a mixed dressing of farmyard dung and artificial manure. The young plants are thinned out by hand hoe to from 9 to 11 inches apart, and the ground is stirred and carefully kept clean by the plough or horse hoe. The turnip crop is thus of great use in clearing the land of weeds. In many places part of the crop is eaten on the ground by sheep, which are confined to a small part of the field by means of movable fences. It is common to leave one of each three rows of turnips for this purpose, the other two rows being carried into the farmyard for feeding cattle or stored. Turnips are stored either in a house or conical heaps, cov ered with straw and earth. They are sometimes protected from frost by being earthed up in rows by the plow. Some kinds are much more easily injured by frost than others; the Swedish turnips least of all.