KITCHEN-GARDENING. 45 



tough, stringy, and of unhandsome shape. In case of the 

 failure of crops, or of unfavorable weather in June, Beet-seed 

 planted the first week in July will sometimes produce large, 

 handsome roots, which may be preserved for winter use. 



The most suitable ground for Beets is that which has been 

 well manured for previous crops, and requires no fresh manure 

 provided it be well pulverized. It is always best to thin Beets 

 while young. If the tops are used as a vegetable, they should 

 not be left too long for this purpose, or they will greatly injure 

 the roots of those that are to stand. Beds that are to stand 

 through the summer, should be kept clean by repeated hoe- 

 ings ; and the roots intended for winter use should be taken 

 up in October, or early in November. Allowing Beet-seed to 

 be planted on the gardening plan, it will require at the rate of 

 ten pounds for an acre of land. If cultivated on the field sys 

 tem that is, by planting them a sufficient distance apart to 

 admit of ploughing between each row one half the quantity 

 of seed will be sufficient. Thinning out the surplus plants is 

 indispensable to the production of good roots. 



An acre of rich, loamy soil has been known to yield two 

 thousand bushels of roots, some of which weighed from fifteen 

 to twenty pounds each. To produce such large roots, they 

 should be cultivated in drills from two to three feet apart, and 

 the plants thinned to ten or twelve inches in the rows. It is 

 generally conceded, however, that moderate-sized roots contain 

 more saccharine matter, in proportion to their bulk, than extra 

 large roots; and that twenty tons, or about seven hundred 

 bushels, are a very profitable crop for an acre of land, and 

 would be amply sufficient to feed ten cows for three or four 

 months of the year. A gentleman in Connecticut computes 

 the products of one-fourth of an acre of good land at eight 

 tons, which, he says, will support a cow the whole year. 



Beets will usually produce more milk than turnips; and 

 milk-dealers will always pay more for a bushel of good beets 

 than for an equal quantity of turnips. 



