no THE AMERICAN GARDENER, [Chap 



garden ; for poles look ugly there ; they intercept 

 the view ; and the addition they make to the crop 

 is not a compensation even for ill look, especially 

 under this bright sun, where the ground is almost 

 constantly dry.— Let it be observed, that every sort 

 of Kidney-bean must have rich ground to produce 

 a large crop. 



198. BEET. — This vegetable, which is little used 

 in England, is here in as common use as carrots are 

 there. It should be sown in the fall (see Paragraph 

 ■159 ;) but, if not, as soon as the ground is free from 

 frost, and is dry, in the spring. The rows a foot 

 apart, and the plants eight inches apart in the rows. 

 In order to hasten the seed up in the spring (if sown 

 then) soak it four days and nights in rain water be- 

 fore you sow it. Put it two inches deep, cover it 

 well, and press the earth hard down upon it. Sow 

 the seed pretty thick all along the drill ; and, w^hen 

 the plants come up, thin them to eight inches apart. 

 Hoe betw^een the plants frequently : but, not very 

 deep; because these tajp-rooted things are apt to 

 fork if the ground be made loose very low dow-n 

 while they are growing. — There are yellow and 

 white Beets, as well as red ; but the red is the true 

 kind : the others are degenerate. There is, how- 

 ever, round or turnip-rooted^ red beet, which is 

 equally good with the tap-rooted red-beet. — The 

 ground should be rich, but not fresh dunged. Ashes 

 of wood, or compost mould, is best ; and the dig- 

 ging ought to be very deep and all the clods ought 

 to be broken into fine earth ; because the clods turn 

 the point of the root aside, and make the tap short, 

 or forked. Fresh dung^ which, of course, lies in 

 unequal quantities in the ground, invites the tap 

 root, or some of the side roots to it, and thus causes 

 a short or forked beet, which, for several reasons. 



