THE FLORAL WOULD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 61 



BEETEOOT. 



HIS delicious vegetable ia very little known excepting as 

 a garnish, and to give a colour to pickled cabbage, and 

 then only in a raw state. It ought to be admitted to 

 every table, for a more wholesome, nutritious, and deli- 

 cate esculent is not to be found. It ia thus managed : — 

 Let it be washed and brushed, not scraped as a carrot is prepared. 

 The head, that is the short stalks which have borne the leaves, also 

 the small end and side rootlets, are all to be left on during the time 

 of boiling, care being taken not to wound the skin till it is done, 

 because the fine, rich colour will escape, and leave the root pale and 

 unsightly. The time they take to boil will depend on the size ; 

 from three quarter of an hour to an hour and a half. 



When it is ready, let it be peeled and trimmed, and sent to table. 

 All that may remain after diuner should be cut into slices about a 

 quarter of an inch in thickness, these are to be laid neatly in vege- 

 table dishes, and vinegar is to be poured over the whole. By tbe 

 next day at dinner-time, or even the same night, it will be ready ; 

 aud if eaten either at supper alone, with pepper, salt, oil, and 

 vinegar, or as an adjunct to cold or even hot meat, it will be found 

 an admirable addition to both meals. 



It becomes a very mild kind of pickle, and is exceedingly salutary 

 if eaten with salted meat. In this state it will keep for a fortnight. 

 This garden beetroot is not the same from which sugar is made : that 

 is the white beet; it grojvs, and much resembles in appearance 

 mangel wurzel. 



*D* 



THE GARDEN GUIDE FOR FEBRUARY. 



FLOWER GARDEN. 



LL alterations and improvements should be attended to at once, and 

 this ia the beBt season for making box and other edgings. Fork up 

 and manure the beds. Plant ranunculuses and anemones. Herba- 

 ceous plants may be divided and transplanted. Top-dress auriculas, 

 pansies, carnations, and roses to strengthen the bloom. About the 

 middle of the month, if the weather is open, you may commence pruning some of 

 the hardy kinds of roses — the Moss, the Provence, China, and others that flower 

 in June and July. The Perpetuals are better left till March and April. Roses 

 on poles or against buildings may be undone and thinned out, and where the 

 poles are decaying new ones should be supplied. Look to the standards — slean 

 the stems, and where any stout branches have been cut away, cover the tops with a 

 little grafting-wax, that insects may not deposit their eggs in the pith. All plants 

 under glass should have as much air as the weather will permit. Sow hardy 

 annuals in the borders, and a few in frames to be transplanted for early bloom. 

 Auriculas commence their spring growth this month, and should be moved into 

 a southern aspect ; and two or three mats should be thrown over the frames at 

 night if frost is expected. This is the best time to remove offsots, as they root 

 more freely than later in the season. The safest plan for their removal is to 

 break them off the old plant with care, and avoid using the knife as much as 

 possible. Calceolarias should now be shifted, and heating matorials prepared for 

 starting dahlias. Should numbers bo a consideration, commence at once. Tulips 

 will now require more care ; continue protection nightly and against storms of 

 February. 



