TURNIP

the fleshy root—or, more accurately, an enormous thickening of the primary root together with the young stem-base—of a plant largely grown in every temperate climate. It is found in numerous shapes — long, round, and squatty — being commonly somewhat flattened instead of long. It ranges from the size of an orange to a weight of forty pounds, and from varieties which are popular as a table-vegetable, either separate or mixed with others in soups and stews, to kinds. that are grown exclusively for feeding cattle. The most delicate flesh is found in medium-sized white turnips of good strain. Many people, however, consider such roots insipid, and prefer the more strongly flavored yellow types.: The percentage of a imilable food material in the turnip is small, but its mineral content is good and it serves as an agreeable variation in vegetables. The freshly expre ed, raw juice has high antiscorbutic value. Young, quickly-grown turnip-tops are excellent as greens and are particularly valuable for their minerals. Those obtained by special sprouting of white turnips (as for Barbe de Capucin, see Cuicory) may also be served raw in salads. Long roots sold as ‘‘turnips’’ are generally Rurapacas (which see). The turnip tends botanically more toward the mustards, the rutabaga to the cabbages. See also references in the general article on VEGETABLEs.