I04 Notes and Gleariings. 



tender ; leaves numerous, spreading, bright green, slightly stained with red, 

 the leaf-stems and nerves bright purplish-red. An early and comparatively new 

 French variety of fine flavor, excellent for summer use, and, if sown as late as 

 the second week in June, equally valuable for the table during the winter. Not 

 recommended for field-culture. Sow in rows fourteen inches apart, and thin to 

 six inches apart in the rows. 



Early Flat Bassano. — Bulb flattened ; six or seven inches in diameter by 

 three or four inches in depth ; not very regular or symmetrical, but often some- 



what ribbed, and terminating in a small, slender lap-root ; skin of fine texture, 

 brown above ground, below the surface clear rose-color ; flesh white, circled or 

 zoned with bright pink, —-not close grained, but very sugary and well flavored ; 

 leaves numerous, erect, of a lively green color, forming many separate groups or 

 tufts, covering the entire top or crown of the root ; leaf-stems short, greenish- 

 white, marked or stained with rose. 



An Italian variety, generally considered the earliest of garden-beets, being 

 from seven to ten days earlier than the Early Blood Turnip-rooted. The flesh, 

 although much coarser than that of many other sorts, is tender, sweet, and of 

 good quality. Roots from early sowings are, however, not suited for winter use, 

 as, when overgrown, they almost invariably become too tough, coarse, and fibrous 

 for table-use. To have t'.iem i:i perfection during winter, the seed should not be 

 sown till near the close of June. In moist, favorable seasons, it succeeds well in 

 comparatively poor, thin soil. Cultivate and preserve as directed for the Early 

 Turnip-rooted. 



Early Blood Turnip-rooted. — The roots of this familiar variety are produced 

 almost entirely within the earth, and measure, when of average size, from four 

 inches to four and a half in depth, and about four inches in diameter. Form 

 turbinate, flattened, smooth, and symmetrical ; neck small, top not very slender, 

 and regularly tapering ; skin deep purplish-red ; flesh deep blood-red, sometimes 

 circled and rayed with paler red, remarkably sweet and tender ; leaves erect, not 

 very numerous, and of a deep-red color, sometimes inclining to green, but the 

 stems and nerves always of a deep, brilliant red. The Early Blood Turnip Beet 



