CHAPTER X 



FAMILY CHENOPODIACE^E 



THIS family comprises the beet, chard, spinach, and 

 the Strawberry Elite. The latter is not generally 

 known to American truckers. In England it is culti- 

 vated as a pot herb. The first three, however, are ex- 

 tensively grown in home gardens on a small scale, or in 

 trucking on a large scale for market. According to the 

 Thirteenth Census of the United States the 1909 area 

 in beets was 3202 acres, New York leading with 

 834 acres to her credit. The States which follow 

 according to rank are: Massachusetts, California, 

 Louisiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 

 Michigan. The remaining States each devote a 

 very limited acreage to beets and are hence 

 omitted. The area devoted to spinach in the 

 United States in 1909 was 6668 acres. Of the leading 

 States in the production of this crop may be es- 

 pecially mentioned Virginia with 3058 acres. The 

 other spinach States are classified according to rank 

 as follows: Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Mas- 

 sachusetts, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. The money 

 value in the United States of the beet crop in 1909 

 was $352,696 and of the spinach crop $817,069. 



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