78 DREER’S VEGETABLES UNDER GLASS. 
To cure this defect several beets have been put on the 
market which require but little space for their development. 
Crosby's Egyptian is a recognized stand-by for under-glass 
work, and Carter’s Excelsior is another favorite. 
The Philadelphia gardeners sow beet seed in cold frames, 
in February, in rows eleven inches apart, with lettuce 
between. The lettuce is off in time to give the beet tops 
room for development. Thomas Brooks, Jr., one of the 
most extensive truckers in the Richmond street district, 
favors Carter’s Excelsior for such use in frames. 
If beets are wanted in mid-winter they can be had in 
forcing houses or hot beds. The Boston gardeners some- 
times grow beets as a catch crop under their cucumber 
trellises, in the great torcing houses; but the beet prefers 
a lower temperature than the cucumber, and does better 
where it can get plenty of fresh air. Wherever the tempera- 
ture is too high (say above 65°) the beet shows a tendency 
to run too much to top. The same is true of the radish. 
There cannot be doubt about profit in raising beets in 
cold frames near a good market. The cost is small and the 
risk light. Whether beets can be made to pay in hot beds 
and forcing houses must be determined by the judgment of 
individuals. It will depend on circumstances. 
With the lettuce removed, as suggested in the plan of 
Mr. Brooks, there would remain say three rows of beets 
under each cold frame sash. At four inches apart this would 
be about fifty beets to the sash, which might sell for ¢1 or 
more in early spring. To this, of course, would be added 
the lettuce sales, and also the value of the spinach cut at 
Christmas, so that the gross annual sales of the sash might 
easily amount to $2 or more under this rotation. 
