SUCCULENT ROOTS. 251 



and succulent, and generally have a red or purple 

 tinge. When eaten warm, beet-root has rather a 

 mawkish flavour ; it is, therefore, usually eaten cold, 

 cut in slices, after having been previously boiled, and 

 with the addition of vinegar is by some persons found 

 agreeable to the palate. Its culture, as an esculent, 

 has not, however, increased of late years, and it is 

 not generally a favourite vegetable for the table ; al- 

 though, according to Sir H. Davy's analysis, it con- 

 tains much more nutritive matter than any other root 

 excepting the potato, the total quantity being one 

 hundred and forty-eight parts in a thousand, or nearly 

 fifteen per cent. Nearly twelve per cent of the whole 

 weight of the beet is saccharine matter, which is a 

 much greater proportion than is contained in any 

 other European esculent. The quantity contained in 

 the red and the white beet is nearly the same ; the 

 proportion of mucilage in each is likewise almost 

 equal, the red having rather the advantage, while it 

 has nearly three times as much gluten as the white. 

 From this account of its composition it would appear 

 that the red beet is the most nourishing of all the 

 edible roots, the potato alone excepted. 



In a country like Britain, where with the bulk of 

 the people vegetables are esteemed for their agreeable 

 flavour, rather than for their nutritive qualities, the 

 superiority of the beet, in the latter respect, is dis- 

 regarded, and those roots which are considered more 

 savoury obtain the preference. 



From one variety of this root, which has a red skin, 

 but is internally white, sugar is extensively prepared 

 in France. We shall notice this manufacture in a 

 subsequent chapter. 



The white beet is seldom, if ever, used as human 

 food, but is largely cultivated for the nourishment of 

 domestic animals, and is preferred for this purpose to 

 the turnip or carrot, especially in the vicinity of popu- 



