2 ESCULENT ROOTS. 



and about one fourth of an inch in diameter ; the size, how- 

 ever, as well as depth of color, varying, to some extent, in 

 the different varieties. Each of these clusters of dried 

 calyxes contains from two to four of the true seeds, which 

 are quite small, smooth, kidney-shaped, and of a deep red- 

 dish-brown color. 



These dried clusters, or groups, are usually recognized as 

 the seeds ; about fifteen hundred of which will weigh one 

 ounce. They retain their vitality from seven to ten years. 



Soil and Fertilizers. The soil best adapted to the beet is 

 a deep, light, well-enriched, sandy loam. When grown on 

 thin, gravelly soil, the roots are generally tough and fibrous ; 

 and when cultivated in cold, wet, clayey localities, they are 

 often coarse, watery, and insipid, worthless for the table, 

 and comparatively of little value for agricultural purposes. 



A well-digested compost, formed of barn-yard manure, 

 loam, and salt, makes the best fertilizer. Where this is not 

 to be obtained, guano, superphosphate of lime, or bone-dust, 

 may be employed advantageously as a substitute. Wood- 

 ashes, raked or harrowed in just previous to sowing the 

 seed, make an excellent surface-dressing, as they not only 

 prevent the depredations of insects, but give strength and 

 vigor to the young plants. The application of coarse, 

 undigested, strawy manure, tends to the production of forked 

 and misshapen roots, and should be avoided. 



Propagation and Culture. Beets are always raised from 

 seed. For early use, sowings are sometimes made in 

 November ; but the general practice is to sow the seed in 

 April, as soon as the frost is out of the ground, or as soon 

 as the soil can be worked. For use in autumn, the seed 

 should be sown about the middle or 20th of May ; and, for 

 the winter supply, from the first to the middle of June. 

 Lay out the ground in beds five or six feet in width, and of 

 a length proportionate to the supply required ; spade or fork 



