CARROTS, MANGOLDS AND SUGAR BEETS. 31 



Mangold Wurtzels differ from table Beets in their gen- 

 eral coarseness of structure, and the larger size to which they 

 grow, the elements which enter into the composition of each 

 being the same in kind. I have grown an ordinary Turnip 

 Beet to weigh twenty-three pounds, and of the size of a half 

 bushel measure. At times, on rich, friable soil, the Long 

 Blood Beet will attain to large proportions, but when led by 

 such results to attempt to get equal weight with Mangolds, 

 under first-rate conditions, the experiment, with me, has uni- 

 formly failed. Still, when quality is wanted, in the fattening 

 of hogs for instance, I am not certain but that the food ob- 

 tained from an acre of the large variety of table Beets, may 

 not be more than that obtained from an equal acre in 

 Mangolds. 



What is a Sugar Beet? The term "Sugar Eeet" is an un- 

 fortunate one, as the word "Sugar" had already been appro- 

 priated to express the sweet flavor of the varieties of Beets 

 raised for table use, while the word Beet is strictly a misno- 

 mer, the vegetable Sugar Beet being in reality a Mangold 

 Wurtzel. A generation ago our fathers used the term "Sugar" 

 as a familiar designation for any sweet variety of beet raised 

 for table use, and at the present by the great majority of the 

 public the term is still so used. As the new industry of man- 

 ufacturing sugar from the beet grew on the continent of Eu- 

 rope, seedsmen were called upon to supply for commerce 

 seed of the best variety for this purpose. It was necessary 

 that this variety should be as free as possible from all coloring 

 substance as this would, as a matter of course, give a stain to 

 the juice, and impose on the manufacturer the labor of puri- 

 fying it. The ones at first selected were the long, white 

 Mangold Wurtzels, and these were called the "Sugar" Beet 

 in commercial parlance. These white Mangolds were not 

 entirely white, the portion that grew above ground being us- 

 ually colored a light green by exposure to the sun's rays ; it 



