Notes and Gleanmgs. 173 



Leaf-Beet, or Swiss Chard {Beta cicld). — The leaf-beet is a native of 

 the sea-coasts of Spain and Portugal. It is a biennial plant, and is cultivated 

 for its leaves and leaf-stalks. The roots are much branched or divided, hard, 

 fibrous, and unfit for use. 



Propagation and Ctiltivation. — It is propagated, like other beets, from seed 

 sown annually ; and will thrive in any good garden-soil. The sowing may be 

 made at any time in April or May, in drills eighteen inches apart, and an inch 

 and a half deep. Wlien the plants are well up, thin them to ten or twelve inches 

 apart, and treat during the season as the common red beet, stirring the surface 

 frequently, and keeping clear of weeds. The excellence of this vegetable con- 

 sists in the succulent character of the stems, and nerves of the leaves ; and 

 these properties are best acquired in moist and warm seasons, or by copious 

 v.atering in dry weather. 



Taking the Crop — "The largest and fullest-grown leaves should be gath- 

 ered first: others will follow. If grown for spinach, the leaves should, be rinsed 

 in clean water, and afterwards placed in a basket to drain dry ; if for chard, or 

 for the leaf-stalks and veins, these should be carefully preserved, and the entire 

 leaves tied up in bundles of six or eight in each." 



Seed. — During the first season, select a few vigorous plants, and allow them 

 to grow unplucked. Just before the closing-up of the ground in autumn, take 

 up the roots, and, after removing the tops an inch above the crown, pack them 

 in dry sand in the cellar. The following spring, as soon as the ground is in 

 working order, set them out, with the crowns level with the surface of the 

 ground, and about two feet and a half apart. As the plants increase in height, 

 tie them to stakes to prevent injury from wind ; and in August, when the seed 

 is ripe, cut off the stems near the ground, and spread them entire, in an airy 

 situation, till they are sufficiently dried for threshing out. 



The seed, or fruit, has the appearance peculiar to the family ; although those 

 of the different varieties, like the seeds of the red beet, vary somewhat in size, 

 and shade of color. 



An ounce of seed will sow a hundred feet of drill, or be sufficient for a nurse- 

 ry-bed of fifty square feet. 



Use. — "This species of beet — for, botanically considered, it is a distinct 

 species from Beta vulgaris, the common or red beet — is cultivated exclusively 

 for its leaves ; whereas the red beet is grown for its roots. These leaves are 

 boiled like spinach, and also put into soups. The midribs and stalks, which 

 are separated from the lamina of the leaf, are stewed and eaten like asparagus, 

 under the name of 'chard.' As a spinaceous plant, the white beet m-jJ t lie 

 grown to great advantage in the vegetable garden, as it affords leaves fit for use 

 during the whole summer." 



The thin part of the leaves is sometimes put into soups, together with sorrel, 

 to correct the acidity of the latter. 



The varieties are as follows : — 



Green or Common Leaf-Beet. — Stalks and leaves large, green ; the roots are 

 tough and fibrous, and measure little more than an inch in diameter ; the leaves 

 are tender, and of good quality. 



