AMERICAN HOME GARDEN. 123 



not black, for extremely dark beets will rarely grow freely 

 enough to possess the sweetness desirable. A dark-rooted 

 beet with a rather light top is generally the best ; when cooked, 

 it will be of a bright blood-color. 



The mangel wurtzel, or red scarcity, is a red-skinned beet, 

 but white inside, growing much out of the ground, and, although 

 chiefly used for feeding cattle, makes a tolerable early beet. 

 The white sugar, or scarcity, rather shorter, but of somewhat 

 similar habit, having sometimes a very slight tinge of pink 

 upon the skin, also makes a good early beet. These varieties 

 are 'unfit for winter use. Of the two, the white sugar is the 

 more desirable, being of rather better quality, and having a fine 

 appearance when served up mixed with the blood-colored vari- 

 eties. 



As to yellow beets and the thousand mingled varieties that 

 may be met with, their dull, dirty appearance when cooked is a 

 sufficient objection to them, not one of them possessing any pe- 

 culiar excellence to counterbalance this defect. No sweeter or 

 more tender beets can be raised than of the kinds above men- 

 tioned, but no beet can be raised of fine quality unless rapidly 

 grown. For this end, rich soil, sufficient room, and frequent 

 hoeing are indispensable. If from any cause it grow slowly, 

 or receive a check, as not ^infrequently happens in drought and 

 from early frosts, the taste of potash, and not sugar, will be 

 found when it is eaten. 



I have not named those beets which are raised expressly for 

 the tops, because it appears absurd to cultivate them. One 

 beet- top is almost as good as another, when grown luxuriantly, 

 and if tops are wanted, they can be plucked from the rooted 

 varieties. As a farm crop, or on a large scale for marketing, 

 beets should be sown in rows at least two feet apart, and thinned 

 to from six to fifteen inches in the rows, according to the kinds 

 and the object proposed in raising them. If raised for feed, 

 being planted early and kept well plowed and harrowed, two 

 feet by fifteen inches will probably yield as much per acre 

 as if left closer, and it is manifest that, other things being 

 equal, the fewer in number the roots may be the less will be 

 the labor of gathering them. For analysis of beets, and their 

 value as a crop for feed, see p. 500. 



