336 THE BEE, OR March 



To tJje Editor of the Bee. 



Ohfervations on the Mangel Wurfel or Root of Scarcity- 



Sir, 

 You have mentioned in the firft number of your ufeful 

 mifcellany, that the culture of the root of fcarcityj ii 

 in general abandoned. That this is the cafe, I will not 

 difpute : it is however, very well worth cultivating, 

 particularly in a cold foil, where other ufeful pot herb., 

 would be cut off by the feverlty of the weather. Iliis I 

 can vouch, from an experiment 1 made, the firft or fe- 

 cond feafon the feeds were introduced into this country. 

 In the month of June, I tranfplanted a row of the 

 young plants on a cold foil, without manure ; at the 

 fame time. there were fome cabbages and favoys planted 

 along I'de of them ; no other care was taken of the 

 fcarcity than of the other greens ; when the winter (torms 

 and frotl had vented all their rage, tlie cabbages and fa- 

 voys were entirely deftroyed, while the fcarcity root 

 remained almoil unhurt ; a few. of the outer leaves were 

 only affected. I gathered fome of them, and caufed 

 boil them, when brought to table, they were tender, 

 and had a reliih equal to any other greens ufed at that 

 feal'on. From about fixty plants, there were at leall 

 three dilhes of green leaves gathered weekly, from 

 the end of February to the end of Alay, that young 

 cabbages fupplied their place ; each difh was fullicient 

 to ferve fix people for vegetables : Had it not been for 

 this ufeful plant, I Ihould have wanted greens, or paid 

 dear for them at market. The feeds of the Mangel 

 Wurzel produce red and green plants ; the latter kind 

 ' is the beft ; they can ealily be diftinguifhed when in the 

 feed-bed j ft is a fpeciea of beat beyond doubt. 



