BEETS. 201 



The pods are always tough, and can never be used as a 

 string bean, but the full-grown beans, while yet green, are tho 

 most delicate and delicious of all beans. When ripe they are of 

 a dull greenish white, flat and broad kidney-shaped. 



Beans, of all kinds, cannot be relied upon to germinate when 

 they are more than two years old. 



BEETS. 



This valuable vegetable forms a very important crop with our 

 market gardeners, ranking second only to the cabbage. In some 

 of its varieties it is a most valuable farm crop, while the finer 

 sorts are both pleasing to the eye and pleasant to the palate when 

 placed on the dinner table. 



The most favorable soil is one that is Hght, deep, and dry, 

 though, well enriched. When grown in heavy soil, particularly 

 that which is damp and cold, it is apt to be coarse, and of poor 

 flavor. In a poor soil it becomes tough and fuU of fibre. The 

 use of coarse manures makes the roots forked and ill-shapen. K 

 the ground be well dressed with fine, well rotted manures, the 

 roots will be smooth and solid. 



The ground having been prepared by thorough pidveriziag, 

 the seed may be sown in drills, an inch and a half deep, and 

 about eighteen inches apart, dropping the seed every two inches. 

 For early summer use they should be sown as soon as the ground 

 has become settled, but for autumn and winter use, about the 

 middle of May. When the young plants are about three inches 

 high, they should be thinned out, by p ullin g up the weakest, so 

 as to stand from four to five inches apart. The young beets that 

 are thus pulled out make excellent greens, cooked tops and aU, 

 and dressed with vinegar. By taking out a part each day, the 

 table may be supplied with them for a week or two. 



The subsequent cultivation consists in keeping them free 

 from weeds, and the surface of the ground loose and meUow. 

 When the surface of the ground is frequently stirred, the plants 



