rs," so called because their four petals are
arranged in the form of a cross. It is a native of Europe and the
temperate portions of Asia, growing wild in borders of fields and waste
places. The ancient Roman gastronomists considered the turnip, when
prepared in the following manner, a dish fit for epicures: "After
boiling, extract the water from them, and season with cummin, rue or
benzoin, pounded in a mortar; afterward add honey, vinegar, gravy, and
boiled grapes. Allow the whole to simmer, and serve."

Under cultivation, the turnip forms an agreeable culinary esculent; but
on account of the large proportion of water entering into its
composition, its nutritive value is exceedingly low. The Swedish, or
Rutabaga, variety is rather more nutritive than the white, but its
stronger flavor renders it less palatable. Unlike the potato, the turnip
contains no starch, but instead, a gelatinous substance called pectose,
which during the boiling process is changed into a vegetable jelly
called pectine. The white lining just inside the skin is usually bitter;
hence the tuber should be peeled sufficiently deep to remove it. When
well cooked, turnips are quite easily digested.

PREPARATION AND COOKING.--Turnips are good for culinary purposes
only from the time of their ripening till they begin to sprout. The
process of germination changes their proximate elements, and renders
them less fit for food. Select turnips which are plump and free from
disease. A turnip that is wilted, or that appears spongy, pithy, or
cork-like when cut, is not fit for food.

Prepare turnips for cooking by thoroughly washing and scraping, if young
and tender, or by paring if more mature. If small, they may be cooked
whole; if large, they should be cut across the grain into slices a half
inch in thickness. If cooked whole, care must be taken to select those
of uniform size; and if sliced, the slices must be of equal thickness.

_RECIPES._

BOILED TURNIPS.--Turnips, like other vegetables, should be boiled
in as small an amount of water as possible. Great care must be taken,
however, that the kettle does not get dry, as scorched turnip is
spoiled. An excellent precaution, in order to keep them from scorching
in case the water becomes low, is to place an inverted saucer or
sauce-dish in the bottom of the kettle before putting in the turnips.
Put into boiling water, cook rapidly until sufficiently tender to pierce
easily with a fork; too much cooking di