BEETS. 367 



The winter crop should be harvested before severe frosts, the last of October being the 

 usual time in the Northern States. Beets are subject to but few diseases and but slight 

 injuries from insects. 



Mangel Wurzels. This is a large, coarse-textured variety of beet, which is exten 

 sively cultivated for feeding stock. The roots grow to a very large size, but are similar in 

 their constituent properties to the common beet, although of coarser texture. There are 

 several varieties of the Mangel Wurzel, among the most desirable of which are the Long 

 Red Mangel, which is sometimes, when young, used for table purposes; the Mammoth Long 

 Red, which, as its name indicates, grows to a very large size, a single root weighing fifty 

 pounds having been exhibited not long since at the Smithfield Club Cattle-Show; it is also of 

 very good quality. The Yellow Globe, Red Globe, and the Ovoid, both Yellow and Red, are 

 also good varieties. 



In the feeding of Mangel &quot;Wurzels, only a small quantity should be given at first, as they 

 will have a tendency to irritate the bowels if fed too liberally, until the stock is accus 

 tomed to the food, or if fed in the early part of the winter, before the ripening process is com 

 pleted, and the starch they contain is converted into sugar. &quot;Where turnips are used for 

 stock food, it is better to feed those first, and reserve the mangolds until the middle or latter 

 part of the winter, when they are more nutritious, and will not be as liable to have an irritat 

 ing or diuretic effect upon the system of animals. From twenty-five to thirty tons per acre 

 is the average yield, although under favoring circumstances as many as eighty tons to the 

 acre have been produced, the yield depending much upon the variety, soil, etc. They will 

 keep well until the middle of the summer, if properly stored. 



Culture. The soil and its preparation for Mangel Wurzel should be similar to that for 

 the ordinary beet, except that land intended for the former crop should be plowed and finely 

 pulverized long enough before sowing the seed to admit of its settling down a little firmly 

 before the seed is deposited, which should be from the middle of April to the middle of May, 

 the quantity required being four or five pounds per acre. The seed should be sown about 

 two inches apart, in drills that are from two to two and a half feet apart, in order to admit 

 of the use of horse-power in the cultivation of the crop. If the soil be .light and the weather 

 dry, the roller should be used to press the earth down upon the seed and hasten its germina 

 tion. When the plants are up about two and a half inches, they should be thinned out to twelve 

 or fifteen inches apart, and the after-culture be similar to that of the common beet. In cul 

 tivating, as much care as possible should be used to prevent breaking the leaves. Two or 

 three hundred weight of salt per acre mixed with the manure, is thought by many growers 

 to be of great advantage to the crop. 



Harvesting and Storage. Beets should be harvested before there is danger of 

 injury from frosts. The tops should be cut to within one inch of the bulb, and the small 

 roots remain on such as are intended for late keeping. In pulling and cleaning the roots, 

 care should be used not to wound or cut off any of the large fibers, as it injures the quality 

 and induces a tendency to decay; neither should they ever be allowed to wilt, for having 

 once become wilted or shriveled, they will never recover their firm and brittle texture. In 

 stacking them, they will keep better if the crowns are placed outward. They may be stored 

 in a cool cellar and slightly covered with dry earth, or in piles of from twenty to thirty 

 bushels each, and covered with sufficient straw and earth to keep out the frost, as recom 

 mended for ruta bagas. 



