A FOLIAGE BEET. 361 



To get the roots one has to dig a well several feet deep, be- 

 cause they are so brittle that they will stand no pulling 

 whatever. With present prices of labor in this country it 

 is not profitable to go into deep mining to get starchy food, 

 and the plant is grown only as a curiosity. 



Chard. Beta vulgaris. 



This plant is a beet grown for its foliage and not for its 

 root which is small and branching. Its cultivation is, how- 

 ever, exactly like that of the beet root, except that its root- 

 ing habit allows of shallower tillage but it enjoys good 

 conditions in the soil and manifests its delight by grander 

 foliage which is very desirable and is used as spinach is. 

 It is not largely grown in California, because conditions 

 are so favorable for continual supplies of spinach, which is 

 preferred. 



