BEET. 



57 



the beet-root is the princip^al ingredient in the substance named 

 barszcz, in Poland, wliich is esteemed a salubrious food, and a 

 preservative against scurvy and putrid fevers. 



But the most important product of this plant is the saccha- 

 rine matter which is procured so abundantly from the roots, 

 and which may rival that obtained from the cane. The ex- 

 traction of sugar from beet-root, first resorted to by Buonaparte 

 as a matter of necessity, has been carried to such perfection in 

 France as to become a lucrative branch of commerce ; and the 

 people of that country appear to be sanguine of rendering them- 

 selves independent of the colonies for that important article at 

 no very distant period. The following is a good but not a 

 very profitable way of preparing it. 



" Let the roots be softened in water, sliced, and the juice 

 expressed, which is to be boiled down;, with the addition of a 

 little lime, till about two-thirds remain, and afterw^ards strained. 

 These boilings and strainings are repeated alternately, until the 

 liquid attains the consistence of syrup, when it is left to cool. 

 The sucar thus extracted, retains somewhat of the taste of 

 the root, but it may be purified by the same process as re- 

 fined West India sugar, and it then loses its peculiar flavour. 

 The quantity obtained varies considerably, but in general it 

 averages between four and five pounds from one hundred 

 pounds of the beet-root, beside a quantity of uncrystallizable 

 syrup. In Germany, the expense has been calculated at about 

 three- pence per pound. 



Medical Properties and Uses. — The use of this plant as 

 an emollient and laxative is now almost forgotten. The leaves 

 softened by a hot iron, or steeped in beer, were a familiar to- 

 pical application for dressing issues, blisters, certain sores and 

 ulcers, and even in scald-head *. 



The powder of the root, and more especially the expressed 

 juice, is a powerful errhine, and was remarked as such by 

 Galen. It was recommended to be snuffed up the nose in 

 severe head-ache, catarrhs, and tooth-ache, but it is condemned 

 by Borrich as a dangerous sternutatory. 



* liorry de morbis cutaneis, p. 442. 



