﻿Cultivated 
  Elementary 
  Species 
  71 
  

  

  monly 
  included 
  in 
  four 
  subspecies. 
  The 
  two 
  

   smallest 
  are 
  the 
  salad-beets 
  and 
  the 
  ornamental 
  

   forms, 
  the 
  first 
  being 
  used 
  as 
  food, 
  and 
  ordinar- 
  

   ily 
  cultivated 
  in 
  red 
  varieties, 
  the 
  second 
  be- 
  

   ing 
  used 
  as 
  ornamental 
  plants 
  during 
  the 
  fall, 
  

   when 
  they 
  fill 
  the 
  beds 
  left 
  empty 
  by 
  summer 
  

   flowers, 
  with 
  a 
  bright 
  foliage 
  that 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  

   rich 
  in 
  form 
  and 
  color. 
  Of 
  the 
  remaining 
  sub- 
  

   species, 
  one 
  comprises 
  the 
  numerous 
  sorts 
  culti- 
  

   vated 
  as 
  forage-crops 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  the 
  true 
  

   sugar-beets. 
  Both 
  of 
  them 
  vary 
  widely 
  as 
  to 
  

   the 
  shape 
  and 
  the 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  roots, 
  the 
  quality 
  

   of 
  the 
  tissue, 
  the 
  foliage 
  and 
  other 
  characteris- 
  

   tics. 
  

  

  Some 
  of 
  these 
  forms, 
  no 
  doubt, 
  have 
  origi- 
  

   nated 
  during 
  culture. 
  Most 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  been 
  

   improved 
  by 
  selection, 
  and 
  no 
  beet 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  

   wild 
  state 
  ever 
  rivals 
  any 
  cultivated 
  variety. 
  

   But 
  the 
  improvement 
  chiefly 
  affects 
  the 
  size, 
  the 
  

   amount 
  of 
  sugar 
  and 
  nutrient 
  substances 
  and 
  

   some 
  other 
  qualities 
  which 
  recur 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  

   varieties. 
  The 
  varietal 
  attributes 
  themselves 
  

   however, 
  are 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  of 
  a 
  specific 
  nature, 
  

   and 
  have 
  no 
  relation 
  to 
  the 
  real 
  industrial 
  

   value 
  of 
  the 
  race. 
  The 
  short-rooted 
  and 
  the 
  

   horn-shaped 
  varieties 
  might 
  best 
  be 
  cited 
  as 
  

   examples. 
  

  

  The 
  assertion 
  that 
  the 
  sundry 
  varieties 
  of 
  

   forage-beets 
  are 
  not 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  artificial 
  selec- 
  

  

  