young plant, for the
danger of fly belongs to the seed-leaf stage. Generally speaking, the
Turnip fly does but little harm in gardens; but where it is much feared,
the seed should be sown in prepared drills to encourage a quick growth.
Draw the drills twelve to fifteen inches apart, three inches deep, and
about the same width, and almost fill them with rotten manure, or with a
mixture of earth and guano, or wood ashes; cover this with a little fine
soil to prevent injury to the seed; then sow, and lightly conceal the
seed with earth as a finish. If the ground is sufficiently moist, growth
will commence almost immediately, and the plant will come up strong, and
very quickly put forth rough leaves. In the general management more
depends on timely and judicious thinning than upon any other point. If
Turnips are not well thinned, so that each plant can spread its green
head unimpeded by the leaves of a neighbour, a good growth cannot be
expected; and thinning by the hoe should be commenced as soon as the
rough leaves appear. The operation must be repeated until the plants are
at a suitable distance, and then comes the process of singling, which
should be done by hand. It will be found that in many cases two or three
little plants stand together looking like one. There must be only one
left at each station, and that should be the shortest. The distances may
vary from four to ten inches, according to the vigour of the variety and
the kind of Turnips required. An easy and profitable plan is to allow a
certain number of bulbs to swell to supply young Turnips, and, by
drawing these, leave room for the remainder of the crop to attain its
proper size for storing.

The Turnip likes a light soil, but does not well endure the occasional
dryness to which light soils are subject. This fact accounts for many
failures of the crop in a hot dry season, for sunshine suits the Turnip,
but it must have moisture or suffer deterioration in some way. If,
therefore, the soil becomes dry, and there is no prospect of rain, the
Turnips should have water, not simply to moisten the surface, but to go
to the roots, for frequent watering is not good for the crop, as it
tends to spoil the beauty of the bulbs, and promotes a rank leaf-growth
which is not wanted. An occasional heavy watering in dry weather will
also do much towards the repression of the many enemies that beset this
useful root--the jumpers, the grubs, the weevils, and the rest of the
verm