CHAPTER VII. 



THE CULTURE OF ROOT CROPS. 



Beetroot. 



Botanical Name : Beta vidgaris. 

 Natural Order : Chenopodiacece. 



THIS excellent vegetable is said to have been in cul- 

 tivation for 2,500 years, and is a cultivated form of 

 the wild beet, Beta maritima, which may be found 

 on the English coasts and by the shores of the Medi- 

 terranean. The cultivated beet is believed to have 

 been introduced into England in 1548. 



Soil and Manuring. Beet prefers a deep, free 

 soil, medium to light and sandy in texture, and a 

 sunny, open position. Although it will grow, some- 

 times very rank, on heavy clay soils, the quality is 

 usually poor and the roots lacking in flavour. The 

 soil should be worked deeply in early winter and laid 

 up roughly to the weather, so that a fine " tilth " 

 may be secured for spring sowing. 



No farmyard manure need be dug in for beetroot 

 unless the ground is very poor, when short or well 

 decayed manure may be used, mixing it well with 

 the soil. The better plan is to manure the ground 

 well for a previous crop, such as potatoes, and then 

 dig in winter without farmyard manure. After 



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