BET 



fcraped, then bnilcil and fcrvcil up with butter, are tender 

 and agreeably tailed ; alfo the k-aves to boil occaiionally as 

 fpiincli and other fmall greens ; and of which the root is 

 remarkably proJudive in quick growtii, to afford frequent 

 fuccetTional gatherings all lumnier and autumn, either cut- 

 ting them off ciofe, or gathering only the larger outward 

 ones, as in either method they foon (hoot up again in plen- 

 tifid fiiccedion. 



The Red Beet. This is raifed from feed fown annually in 

 March or April, in the place where the plants are to remain, 

 being c;>refiil to procure that of the bell dark red fort. Jt 

 ■flionld be allowed a light, rich, deep foil, in an open ex- 

 pofure. The market gardeners often fow this fort thinly 

 amou'T their crops of onions, carrots, &c. that are to be 

 drawn off while young ; fo that when thefe are gone, the 

 beet commences a full crop. 



" It is, however, a better practice to fow the principal 

 crop feparate. The ground (hou1d be dug one fpade deep 

 at lead, and well broken, the feed fown dircftly, which may 

 cither be broad-caft on the furface, or raked well into the 

 ground ; or, as oblerved of the fn'll fort, in drills drawn an 

 inch deep, and at the dillance of ten or twelve inches; or you 

 may dot or prick it, as is often pradliled, with a bhiut dibber, 

 in lines at the above dillance, making the holes an inch deep, 

 and eight or ten afunder in the rows, dropping two or three 

 feeds in each hole, though only one good plant ihould be 

 left in each place. In May or June, when the plants have 

 leaves an inch or two broad, tiicy require thinning and 

 cleaning from weeds, which may be performed either by 

 liand-weeding or fmall hoeing ; tlie latter is the moll expe- 

 ditious for large crops, and it looiens the fnrface of the 

 earth, to the great advantage of the young plants ; care- 

 fully eradicate all weeds, and tjiin tlie plants to ten or 

 twelve inches dillance. Some of the roots will be tit to take 

 up for ufe about the end of Augiill, though they will not 

 attain full perfedliou until October. In November, a quan- 

 tity of the roots fhould be taken up, their tops trimmed off, 

 not too clofe, and then laid in fand or dry earth, under 

 fhelter, to be ready for winter ufe. 



This iort of beet is highly valued for its large red root, 

 which in the common variety, often grows twelve or fifteen 

 inches long, and three or four inches thick or more ; but 

 that of the turnep-rooted fort is much fliorter, and generally 

 thicker, and of equal goodnels in every relpert for ufe ; and 

 in both of which, thofe that are of the largeft growth and 

 darkeil red colour, are the moll valuable : thefe roots being 

 tender, fwcet, and palatable, are boileci, diced, and eaten 

 cold, &c. are alio lliccd and fcraped in iallads, both as an 

 eatable ingredient, and by way of garnifli ; (lices of the root 

 are alio in requell not only as garnith to dilhes, but as a 

 pickle : the other varieties are never cultivated for any prin- 

 cipal crop. 



Saving of Seed. In order to fave feed from any of the 

 varieties, either mark fome of the bell plants in fpring, to 

 be left to run up, or tranfplant fome of them in February ur 

 March into a convenient place, to have (hclter from winds ; 

 they Ihoot up llalks in May ; in June they mult be mp- 

 ported with llakes ; and the feed will ripen in September. 



That a great quantity of fugar might be obtained from 

 white beet, has been long known. The famous chemifl 

 Margraaf made fome experiments, half a century ago (pub- 

 lifhed in the year 1747) for determining the quantity of 

 fugar contained in various European plants. He found that 

 the white beet produced a much greater quantity than any 

 of the other plants. The beet has of late been much culti- 

 vated, particularly in Germany, with a view to the fugar that 

 is obtained from the root. M. Achard of Berlin, firft in- 



B E T 



troduccd this f\'.ljjei\ into general notice, and recommended 

 that the fugar Ihould be procured by boiling the beet -roots, 

 when taken out of the earth ; that they be lliced when cold ; 

 that afterwards the faccharine juice be prelfed out ; and 

 that it be filtered, evapcn-ated, and, after evaporation, the 

 fugar be procured by cryilallization and preilure. lie Ims 

 publiflied his method at full length, in " Ausfnluliohe Ikleli- 

 reiburg," Berlin 1799, Hvo. He lays much llrcfj on the 

 mode of culture, and oblcrves, that crude lugar can be pro- 

 dueed at about three pence a pound. His peculiar mode 

 of culture conlilts ciiiefly in planting the feeds at a certain 

 dillance from each other, and in not traufplanting the roots. 

 M. Achard reckons three varieties of the beet^root ; but he 

 prefers that which lir.s the Ikin of a redd'.ih colour, and 

 the fleOi white. Tlie kinds ot beets which have been nfed 

 for this purpofe, arc varieties of the B. vulgarii. Mr. John 

 Taylor of Leipiig has given a particular account of the 

 method of cultivating the common beet, and of pieparing 

 fugar from its root, in a letter addieifed to his father, the 

 fecretary of the focictv for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. 

 and publiihed in the 181I1 volume of their Tranfaftious. 

 He obfcrves, that the foil fliould be a good black earth, 

 not too moid ; and that it (huuld be prepared, like that 

 deligucd for cabbage^, by dunging it in autumn with (hort 

 rotten dung, and ploughing it, and by turning it again in 

 Ipring, and ploughing it a third time to a greater depth than 

 before. After the third ploughing, fays M. Achard, it 

 fliould be carefully harrowed, to render it fmooth and even, 

 and to bleak all the lumps of earth which may happen to 

 be in it. The feeds are ufually placed at the dillance of 

 from 12 to 18 inches from one another, from 9 to 12 inches 

 according to M. Achard, and at the depth of one inch in 

 the earth. One feed is laid in each hole, and immediately 

 covered with earth. In four or five weeks time the gronnd 

 mull be weeded, and afterwards hoed. Some prefertranfplant- 

 ing the roots, to fowing the feed in the ground where the 

 plants are intended to remain. M. Achanl forbids all tranf- 

 ]ilanling ; and one of his reafons for this prohibition is, that 

 the lower part or points of the roots are liable to be thus 

 broken oft, which part, he fays, gives more fugar than the 

 upper part. After they have been fome time in the ground, 

 the earth fliould be loofened with a hoe, and the weeds def- 

 troyed. The method invented by piofelfor Gottling for 

 feparatiug the fugar from the beet-roots, is eafily practicable, 

 and adapted to this country. It is as follows : — He recom— ' 

 mends tlie taking of the beet-roots out of the ground from 

 the middle of September to the middle of October, that tiie 

 wiathcr may be favourable for drying them, which (houkl 

 be done carefully, lell, as M. Achard obferves, they fliould 

 be damaged, and any of the juice which oozes out be loll ; 

 and wafhiug them as fpeedily as pofTible from the earth that 

 adheics to ihem, and cutting off their final! fibres as well as 

 inch part of the root as had rifeii, whilll they were growing, 

 above the furface of the earth. The roots are afterwards 

 wiped with a cloth, and laid upon a dry floor ; the heads are 

 cut off and given to the cattle ; and the roots are fliced 

 lengthways, abng the middle, each half being cut again 

 into flices, and loofely hung, not too near each other, left 

 they fhould fpoil, on llrong thread, fufpended on nails, in 

 an airy chamber or place fecurc from the rain. In the courfe 

 of two or three weeks, with proper attention, they will be 

 fufficiently dry for the extraftiim of their fugar. If the 

 drying fcafon is far advanced, or a froft expefted, the beet- 

 roots fliould notbeexpofed to the outward air; they Ihould 

 be dried in the kitchen or warm rooms, cither on Uiings or 

 netted frames, refembling the flakes ufed in Yorkfliire for 

 drj'ing oat-cakes J ox they may be dried in ftove-rooms by 



6 artificial 



