112 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



with red ; skin of the root grayish red, especially the part above- 

 ground ; flesh in bands or zones of white and rose, firm, sugary, 

 delicate, and highly esteemed in some countries. This is a mode- 

 rately early and very productive kind. 



The following varieties deserve to be mentioned as very 

 distinct : 



The Cheltenham Green-top Beet. An English variety, with 

 very long, clean, regularly tapering root. A very deep-rooting 

 variety; it offers even in a more marked degree than the Rough- 

 skinned Beet a contrast between the colour of the foliage, which is 

 pale green, and that of the root, which is a very intense red. 



Crosby's Egyptian Beet. A variety much esteemed in the 

 United States ; the only similarity it bears to the Extra Early 

 Egyptian Beet is in its great earliness. It has a thicker and 



Egyptian Dark Red Turnip-rooted Beet Early Flat Bassano Beet. 



(^ natural size). 



altogether larger, but less highly coloured, root than its Extra 

 Early namesake, being a distinct vermilion. It is scant in leaf, 

 and is one of the earliest varieties. 



Lentz Beet. Also of American origin, and very early. The 

 root is top-shaped, and the flesh red with lighter coloured zones. 

 The foliage is very short and green, tinged with brown. 



Short's Pine-apple Beet, Pine-apple Dwarf Red, or Hender- 

 son's Pine-apple Beet. A compact-growing kind, with a rather 

 short root, which is tap-rooted, and about 2 or 3 in. in diameter ; 

 flesh very dark in colour ; leaves stiff and spreading, red with 

 orange-coloured stalks. 



Victoria Beet. A variety of German origin, with an inter- 

 mediate root of a deep red colour, less remarkable for its value as 

 a vegetable than for the singular metallic appearance of its leaves, 

 and quite as much grown for ornamental as it is for kitchen-garden 

 purposes. 



