728 THE farmers' handbook. 



as purchased is fairly large and has a corky appearance; this is really the 

 seed fruit which contains several seeds. The germination is sometimes 

 disappointing, but this is mostly due to faulty sowing. Should the surface 

 soil be dry and light in texture, the seed must be planted deep in order to 

 reach the moisture, but should the surface soil be damp a depth of about 

 1 inch is sufficient. To get the moisture through the corky covering of the 

 seed is always very difficult, and to overcome this it is usual to soak the 

 seed overnight previous to planting. Where possible the seed should be 

 spaced about 1 inch apart in the drills and thinned to at least 6 or 9 inches 

 apart, according to the variety. When young, the plants can be transplanted 

 if carefully handled so as not to interfere with the roots, but this course is 

 only recommended where there are wide spaces in the rows as the result of 

 faulty germination; the plants from the thicker portions of the field may 

 then be utilised for this purpose. The crop needs little attention other 

 than cultivation to keep down weeds and a sufficient supply of moisture. 

 The roots can be used for household purposes as soon as they are large 

 enough, but they should not be forwarded to market until more fully 

 developed. 



Great care must be exercised in harvesting, as bruising or breaking of 

 the tap-root is a serious drawback, causing bleeding to take place in cook- 

 ing, which leaves the vegetable very pale in colour. The beet is rich in 

 sugar, and if allowed to bleed a large quantity of this constituent is also 

 lost. In cooking, if the utensil is large enough, it is always advisable to 

 allow the tops to remain, but if the vessel will not permit of this, screwing 

 off the tops is preferable to cutting them. 



The long varieties are not favoured by housewives on account of the 

 difficulty of accommodating them in ordinary pots; for this reason the 

 turnip-rooted sorts are more popular. Varieties recommended are: — 

 Eclipse — turnip-rooted, early, smooth-skin, globular shaped, with a highly 

 coloured flesh. Egyptian — turnip-rooted, very early, roots rounded and 

 flattened, and resting on the surface of the soil, suitable for shallow 

 soils, skin smooth, violet or slaty red, flesh dark blood colour. Silver 

 Spinach — this is a variety of beet-root, the leaves of which have been 

 developed for culinary, purposes. The cultivation is identical with that of 

 the ordinary beet, except that the plant should be spaced at a distance of 

 not less than 15 inches apart. The leaves are used as required, and are 

 boiWl and minced the same as ordinary spinach. 



