requirements In general, mangelwurzel are easy to grow. They may require supplementary potassium for optimum yields, flavour, and texture, and foliage readily displays potassium deficiency as interveinal chlorosis. This can be corrected with either organic or inorganic sources of potash. Mangelwurzel is very susceptible to damage from frost. It is suited to southern parts of England where the climate is too warm and dry for the successful cultivation of turnip. In tradition In South Somerset, on the last Thursday of October every year, Punkie Night is celebrated. Children carry around lanterns called "Punkies", which are hollowed-out mangelwurzels. Mangelwurzels also are, or previously were, carved out for Halloween in Norfolk, Wales, parts of Yorkshire and northwest Cumberland (Workington) and Devon. John Le Marchant recommends cutting the "mangel-wurzel" to learn the proper mechanics for a draw cut with the broadsword in his historic manual on swordsmanship. In an early article in The Lancet, Thompson A and Minx M cite Mangelwurzel seeds as an effective relief for constipation when taken per anum (through the anus) after scoring the husk. Mangelwurzel seeds were sent by Benjamin Rush to George Washington. See also Beet Beetroot Rutabaga Turnip Chard The Wurzels, a British band Worzel Gummidge, a British book, later adapted into a television series. References Further reading Commerell, Abbé de Mémoire et instruction sur la culture, l’usage et les avantages de la racine de disette ou betterave champêtre, Paris : Impr. royale, 1786, 8vo., 24 p. / 1788, 4to., 15 p. / Paris : Buisson, 1786, 8vo., 44 p. / 1787 (3e éd.), 8vo., 47 p. / Metz : Impr. de Ve Antoine et fils, et Paris : Impr. de Ve Hérissant, 1786, 8vo., 40 p. / Paris : chez Onfroy et Petit, 1788, 8vo., 47 p. / édition raccourcie, Paris, Impr. royale, 1788, 4to., 15 p. --do.-- An Account of the Culture and Use of the Mangel Wurzel, or root of scarcity, London : C. Dilly, 1787, 8vo., 56 p. / 3rd ed. Edited by John Coakley Lettsom. London : C. Dilly, 1787, 8vo., xxxix, 51 p. External links The Guardian online report on Post Office closures, during which protesters used Mangelwurzel lanterns as a symbol of village tradition Amaranthaceae Biogas substrates Root vegetables Fodder