The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 19

Root produced within the earth,--long, tapering, and rather symmetrical; size small,--average specimens measuring five or six inches in length, an inch and a half in diameter at the crown, and weighing eight or ten ounces; skin white, or yellowish-white; flesh white, dry, very firm, and sugary; leaves small, deep green, spreading. Half early, and one of the best of the dry-fleshed varieties.

GOLDEN BALL. _M'Int._ _Vil._

Yellow Globe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Golden Ball.]

Bulb produced mostly within the earth, nearly globular, and very smooth and symmetrical; skin bright yellow below ground, greenish above; leaves comparatively small, spreading; flesh pale yellow, sweet, and well flavored, but not so fine-grained as that of many other varieties. It is a good table turnip; and with the Robertson's Golden Stone, which it greatly resembles, the most valuable for cultivation, where large-sized garden turnips are required. Its size is about that of the last named.

Average specimens measure four inches in diameter, nearly the same in depth, and weigh from twelve to fourteen ounces.

GREEN GLOBE. _Law._

Green-top White Globe.

Roots of a fine, globular shape, with a small neck and tap-root; very white below, and green above, the surface of the ground; of medium size, hardy, and firm in texture, but scarcely so much so as the Green Round; than which it arrives at maturity rather earlier. It is somewhat larger than the White Norfolk; has large, deep-green foliage; grows strongly; and produces extraordinary crops: but it soon becomes spongy, and often decays in autumn or early in winter.

A sub-variety, of larger size and with softer flesh, is known by the name of Hungarian Green-top Globe.

GREEN NORFOLK. _Law._

Green-top Norfolk. Green Round.

A sub-variety of the White Norfolk, of nearly the same form and size; the bulb differing princ.i.p.ally in the color of the top, which is green.

The Norfolk turnips are all of a peculiar flattish form; rather hollowed towards their neck, as also on their under side. When grown to a large size, they become more or less irregular, or somewhat angular. The Green-top variety possesses these characters in a less degree than the White-top; and is generally round, flattened, but not much hollowed, on the upper or under surface. It is hardier than the White or Red varieties.

GREEN TANKARD. _Law._

Roots more than half above ground; oblong, or tankard-shaped; of a greenish color, except on the under surface, which is white; flesh white and sweet, but of coa.r.s.e texture.

The term "Tankard" is applied to such common field turnips as are of an oblong shape, and the roots of which, in general, grow much above the surface of the ground. Such oblong varieties, however, as approach nearest to a round or globular form, are sometimes termed "Decanter," or "Decanter-shaped turnips."

In good soils, the Green Tankard sometimes attains a weight of eight or ten pounds. As a garden variety, it is of little value.

GREEN-TOP FLAT.

Similar in size, form, and quality to the common Purple-top Flat; skin, above ground, green.

Long grown in New England for feeding stock; and, in its young state, often used as a table turnip. Now very little cultivated.

GREEN-TOP YELLOW ABERDEEN. _Law._

Green-top Yellow Bullock.

An old and esteemed variety, similar in size and form to the Purple-top Yellow Aberdeen: the color of the top is bright green.

LINCOLNSHIRE RED GLOBE.

This variety is remarkable for its large, deep-green, luxuriant foliage.

Bulb very large, roundish; skin, below ground, white,--above the surface, purple; flesh white, firm, and, when young, well flavored, and adapted to table use. It yields abundantly; is uniformly fair, and free from small roots; an average keeper; and deserving of cultivation, especially for agricultural purposes.

LONG BLACK.

Except in the form of its roots, this variety much resembles the Round Black. It possesses the same peculiar, piquant, radish-like flavor; and is served at table in the same manner.

LONG WHITE MALTESE.

Long White Clairfontaine. _Vil._

Roots eight or nine inches in length, an inch and a half in diameter, somewhat fusiform, and very smooth and symmetrical. The crown rises two or three inches above the surface of the ground, and is of a green color, except where exposed to the sun, when it often becomes purple or reddish-brown. Below the surface of the soil, the skin is of a dull or dirty white. Flesh white, moderately fine, tender, and of a sugary flavor. Half early.

The variety has some resemblance to the Cow-horn; but is smaller, and the flesh not so white.

PETROSOWOODSKS.

Bulb of medium size, flattened,--comparatively smooth and regular; tap-root very slender, issuing from a basin; skin blackish-purple above and below ground, sometimes changing to yellow about the tap-root of large or overgrown bulbs; flesh yellow, fine-grained, and tender, if grown in cool weather, but liable to be fibrous and strong-flavored when grown during the summer months. The variety is early, and must be cla.s.sed as a garden rather than as a field turnip.

POMERANIAN GLOBE.

Bulb globular, remarkably smooth and regular; the neck is small, and the skin white, smooth, and glossy; the flesh is white, close-grained, tender, and sweet; the leaves are large, and of a dark-green color, with paler or whitish nerves. Half early.

When in perfection, the bulbs measure three and a half or four inches in diameter, about the same in depth, and weigh from fourteen to eighteen ounces. If sown early in good soil, and allowed the full season for development, the roots sometimes attain a weight of eight or ten pounds.

It is generally cultivated as a field turnip, but is also sown as a garden variety; the roots being of good quality for the table, if pulled when about half grown.

PRESTON, OR LIVERPOOL YELLOW. _Law._

An early sort, somewhat resembling the Yellow Malta: the bulbs attain a larger size, the foliage is stronger, and the basin, or depression, about the tap-root less deeply sunk.

PURPLE-TOP FLAT.

Red-top Flat.

Bulb round, flattened, nearly one-half growing above ground; neck and tap-root small; skin reddish-purple where exposed to light and air, and white below the surface of the soil; flesh very white, close-grained while young, and of a sugary but often bitter taste. During winter, it usually becomes dry and spongy. Average specimens measure two and a half inches in depth, four or five inches in diameter, and weigh from sixteen to twenty ounces.

This old and well-known variety, at one period, was the princ.i.p.al field as well as garden turnip of the Northern and Middle States. It is now, however, very little cultivated; being superseded by the Strap-leaved and other more desirable sorts.