632 



PRACTICE OF GARDENING. 



Part III. 



Sub6ect. 6. Red Beet. — Beta vulgaris, L. (Schk. Han. i. t. 56.) Pent. Dig. L. and 

 Chenopodece, B. P. Betterave, Fr. ; Rotlie Riibe, Ger. ; and Barba Biettola, Ital. 



3731. The red beet is a biennial plant, rising with large, oblong, thick, and succulent 

 leaves, generally of a reddish or purple color ; the roots often three or four inches in dia- 

 meter, of a foot or more in length, and of a deep-red color. It produces greenish flowers 

 in August. The red beet is a native of the sea-coast of the south of Europe ; it was 

 cultivated in this country by Tradescant, the younger, in 1656, and then called beet rave 

 (or beet-radish), from the French name betterave. 



3732. Use. The roots are boiled and sliced, and eaten cold, either by themselves, or 

 in salads ; they also form a beautiful garnish, and are very much used as a pickle. Some 

 consider the green-leaved variety as more tender in the roots than the red-leaved sort ; 

 other prefer those with a few small dark-red leaves. From one variety, having a red 

 skin, but white flesh, sugar is prepared in some parts of France and the Netherlands ; 

 but this manufacture, introduced under Buonaparte's reign, is now almost entirely given 

 up in favor of West India produce. The roots, dried and ground, are sometimes used 

 as " a supplement to coffee," and dried in an oven in thin slices : they are also used in 

 comfitures. (A r . Cours d" Agricultur, art. Bette.) 



3733. Varieties. These are numerous, but the principal are — 



The common long-rooted ; which suits I The short, or turnip-rooted ; suited to I The green-leaved ; red-rooted, suited to 

 light, deep, rich soils, and grows very I shallow soils 1 soils of light open texture, 



large 



3734. Morgan has enumerated the following sorts of red beet, as having been culti- 

 vated in the garden of the Horticultural Society : — 



Large-rooted 

 Long-rooted 

 Dwarf; one of the best 



Turnip-rooted ; and early va- 

 riety 

 Small-red 

 Castlenaudari; much esteemed 



in France, and said to have 

 the flavor of a nut. 

 Green-topped ; much grown in 

 Scotland. — He also enume- 



rates some yellow-rootea 

 sorts, none of which are in 

 general cultivation. 

 (Hort. Trans, v. iii. p. 277. ! 



3735. Seed and soil. The beet is always raised from seed, and for a bed four feet and a half by twelve 

 feet, one ounce is requisite. The soil in which it naturally delights is a deep rich sand, dry and light 

 rather than moist. Sowing in seed-beds and transplanting has been tried ; but though it may answer for 

 the spinage or pot-herb beets, (white and its varieties,) it will not answer where the object is a large clean 

 root. 



3736. Solving. The beet is sown annually in the last week of March, or beginning of April. If sown 

 earlier, many of the plants are apt to run into flower, and so become useless. " The ground on which it 

 is sown should have been previously enriched by mellow compost and sea-sand ; but rank dung is not to 

 be laid in, as it is apt to induce canker. For the long-rooted kind, trench to the depth of eighteen inches. 

 Sow either broad-cast on the rough surface, and rake well into the earth ; or, as the seed is large, sow in 

 drills an inch or two deep, and a foot asunder ; or dot it in with a thick blunt-ended dibble, in rows that 

 distance, making holes ten or twelve inches apart, about an inch and a half deep ; drop two or three seeds 

 in each hole, but with the intention to leave only one best plant." 



3737. Subsequent culture. " When the young plants are advanced into leaves, one, two, or three inches 

 in growth, they must be thinned and cleared from weeds, either by hand or small-hoeing, especially those 

 60wn promiscuously broad-cast and in drills : thin the latter to twelve inches' distance; and those holed 

 in by dibble, to one in each place. They will acquire a large full growth in the root by September or 

 October, to take up for use as wanted, and in continuance all winter and spring following : or in Novem- 

 ber, it mav be proper to dig up a quantity, cut off the leaves, and deposit the roots in dry sand, under 

 cover, ready for use in winter, in case of hard frosty weather, which would fix them fast in the ground ; 

 or the rest may be digged up at the same time, and trenched in close together in some dry compartment, 

 to be covered occasionally in severe frost, to prevent their being frozen in, that they may be readily taken 

 up as wanted. Towards spring, in February or the beginning of March, if any remain in the bed where 

 raised, their removal then, being trenched in close together over the root, will, in some degree, check 

 their shooting, and preserve them from running, so as to keep them good all the spring till May and 

 June." {Abercrombie.) 



3738. Housing. In the northern counties, the winter stock of beet is commonly lifted and housed in 

 sand, in the manner of carrots. In digging up the roots for this purpose, great care must be taken that 

 they be not in anywise broken or cut, as they bleed much. For the same reason, the leaves should be 

 cut off, at least an inch above the solid part of the root. 



3739. To save seed. Either leave a few strong roots standing in the rows ; or select a 

 few, and transplant them to a spot where they will be in no danger, when in flower, of 

 being impregnated with any other variety. They will shoot up the second year, when 

 their flower-stalks should be tied to stakes, to prevent their breaking over. 



Subsect. 7. Skirret Sium Sisarum, L. (Schk. Hand. i. t. 69.) Pent. Dig. L. and 



Umbelliferce, J. Chervis, Fr. ; Zuckeriviirzel, Ger. ; and Sisaro, Ital. 



3740. The skirret is a perennial tap-rooted plant, a native of China, known in this 

 country since 1548. The lower leaves are pinnated, and the stem rises about a foot 

 high, terminated by an umbel of white flowers, in July and August. The root is com- 

 posed of fleshy tubers, about the size of the little finger, and joined together at the crown 

 or head ; they were formerly much esteemed in cookery. In the north of Scotland, the 

 plant is cultivated under the name of crummock. 



3741. Use. The tubers are boiled, and served up with butter ; and are declared by 

 Worlidge, in 1682, to be " the sweetest, whitest, and most pleasant of roots." 



.3742. Culture. This plant grows freely in a lightish soil, moderately good. It is propagated both from 

 seed, and by offsets of established roots. The better method is to raise seedlings, to have the root in 

 perfection, young and tender. 



