202 BEETS. 



wUl grow better, because of the mellow condition of the soil, and 

 in time of drought will suffer far less than if the earth is left 

 undisturbed and allowed to become hard. The reason of this is, 

 that when the surface is meUow evaporation does not take place 

 as rapidly as when it is hard, and the moisture in the soU, 

 instead of going off into the air, is retained to supply the roots of 

 the plants. Besides this, the frequent stirring admits air into the 

 soU, and the air furnishes food to the roots as weU as the water, 

 so that whether therQ be weeds to destroy or not, these stirrings 

 of the surface are beneficial to the growth of all plants. 



Beets are not only valuable for summer use, but they may 

 be preserved through the winter, and used whenever desired. 

 Those that are intended for winter use should be gathered 

 before the frosts become severe, for if they get severely frozen 

 before they are taken up the exposed part wUl decay. In 

 taking them out of the ground, care should be had not to 

 injure or bruise the roots, and in taking off the leaves not to 

 cut the crown of the beet. After removing them from the 

 ground, they may be left exposed to the air long enough to 

 dry, and then removed to a cool cellar, and packed in fresh 

 earth or sand, alternate layers of roots and earth, so that they 

 shaU be well covered. If carefully gathered, and stored in this 

 way in a cool cellar, they wiH keep quite sweet and good until 

 June. It is, however, a very common error to keep them in a 

 warm cellar, and in such a place they lose much of their fresh- 

 ness and flavour. It is better that the cellar should be so cool 

 that the thermometer shall stand at freezing point, or a very 

 little above, than to keep them warmer. 



In growing beets for table use, it is not desirable to see how 

 large they can be made, for the large, overgrown specimens are 

 coarse and lacking in flavor, but the rather to grow them smooth, 

 firm and fine grained. The test of a good beet is in the close, 

 compact character of the flesh, with fineness of grain, free from 

 fibre, and perfect smoothness of exterior. Therefore, in selecting 

 roots from which to raise seed, those should be chosen which 



