428 SALSOLA. t^^ASS V. ORDER II. 



or three in the germen, which mostly becomes granulated, and reddish 

 or purple. 



Habitat. — Sea shore, especially in a muddy soil ; not unfrequeut. 



Perennial ; flowering in August, 



This species is regarded by some authors as a variety of B. vulgaris, 

 from which it seems to differ only in having two or three flowers 

 together instead of three or four ; and Smith observed that according 

 to Linnaeus the keel of the calyx is entire, which is not so in B. vulgaris. 



Several varieties of Beet are cultivated for various purposes. The 

 common garden Beet is a well known vegetable; its leaves are eaten 

 in the Spring like Spinach, and the stems and mid-ribs of the leaves 

 are blanched by earthing them up, and make an excellent deli- 

 cate dish used as chard ; the roots are a fine dark colour, and are 

 used in salads, soups, &c., and with vinegar form a good and beautiful 

 pickle, much used in ornamenting side dishes, &c. Another kind is 

 commonly known by the name of Mangel Wurzel, a root of scarcity. 

 This plant is now cultivated in many parts of the country to a consi- 

 derable extent, and is an excellent winter provender for sheep and 

 cattle ; its root, which is the part of the plant for which it is chiefly 

 grown, yields an abundance of nutriment, from the gi-eat quantity of 

 saccharine matter which it contains. It is surprising to what a 

 large size the roots by being grown in a deep rich soil will attain, their 

 weighing from twenty to thirty pounds is not an uncommon size, but 

 sometimes they have been grown to near sixty pounds. These roots 

 made into poultices are considered a better and a more useful applica- 

 tion to irritable ulcers than those of carrots. The cultivation of the 

 Beet is far more important in France than with us, for from its roots 

 nearly the whole of the sugar which they consume is obtained ; for 

 this purpose the white Sicilian Beet is preferred, from its containing 

 the greatest portion of saccharine matter. Although great improve- 

 ments have been made in the preparation of the Beet sugar, it is not 

 considered near so good as that obtained from the cane. The dried 

 roots of Beet, after the juice has been for the most part extracted 

 from them, used in the same way as malt, are said to make a good and 

 wholesome kind of beer ; and the dark red coloured roots are not un- 

 frequently employed to heighten the colour of claret wine. 



GENUS XCI. SAL' SOLA.— Linn. Salt-wort. 



Nat. Ord. Chenopo'dEjE. Vent. 



Gen, Char. Perianth single, inferior, five-partite, persistent, the 

 segments after flowering producing from the back a transverse 



