The principal sowings for autumn and winter supplies are made in June and July, but seed may also be sown in August.  Ground from which some crop, such as Peas, has just been cleared generally needs little preparation beyond breaking the surface with a hoe, followed by a good raking.  Thin the plants early and let them stand finally at six to nine inches apart in the rows.  For late crops seed is often sown broadcast, the roots being pulled as they mature.

==General Culture.==—­It is advisable to sow Turnips in drills on a fine tilth, and it is an advantage to have a sufficiency of some stimulating manure near the surface to hurry the growth of the 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