CARROTS, PARSNIPS, AND BEETROOTS 137 



of cotton over and around the plants, fastening them, at 

 the ends of the rows, to pieces of wood by means of pro- 

 jecting nails (Figs. 7 and 8, Plate 3). Slugs also attack 

 the young beetroot. Sometimes a healthy plant will 

 suddenly sicken and wither away. Pull it up and 

 examine the root. In all probability it will be found that 

 the slugs have nibbled through the fleshy part. To check 

 these pests, sprinkle the bed with lime and soot, fork in 

 the ingredients carefully, and then make the surface of the 

 ground difficult to crawl over by the scattering of rough 

 cinders. 



Beetroots should be lifted in the autumn before the 

 appearance of frosts. If the crop is large, store it in 

 clamps ; if it is small pack the roots in a box containing 

 fine sand, in such a way that no two roots touch. Of 

 course, it is hardly necessary to add that none but 

 perfect specimens, the result of careful lifting, are worth 

 preserving. The leaves, twisted and not cut from the 

 crowns, make a useful addition of potash if worked into 

 the potato beds. 



It may not be out of place to mention that the delicate 

 bronze foliage of this vegetable is highly ornamental 

 and, therefore, the plants may well be incorporated in 

 the flower beds ; in fact, they make an artistic contrast 

 to the usual green foliage. 



