Account of the Species and Varieties of Beets. 273 



enabled to do very satisfactorily in the present year, in the 

 garden of the Society at Kensington, where all the sorts, of 

 which seeds could be obtained in England and from France, 

 were grown most successfully. 



The different sorts of rooted Beets, the cultivated offspring 

 of the Beta Vulgaris, must necessarily be divided into those 

 for garden, and those for field cultivation. I shall first 

 notice the garden kinds. 



The first I call the Large Rooted Red Beet ; it is the Bette- 

 rave Rouge Grosse of the French. The root usually grows 

 more than half out of the ground, but occasionally it buries 

 itself deeper ; the leaves grow erect on foot-stalks near a 

 foot long ; these, and the veins of the leaves, are of a deep 

 red colour ; the leaves themselves are of a lurid green, more 

 or less inclining to lurid purple ; they are heart-shaped, and 

 of considerable size, the large ones measuring from nine to 

 twelve inches in length, and from seven to ten inches in 

 width ; the smaller leaves springing from the centre of the 

 crown of the root are not numerous ; the root is more than 

 a foot long, ending in several strong fangs ; it is of the same 

 thickness throughout, measuring about four or five inches in 

 diameter ; the internal colour is a bright red, shewing white 

 concentric rings when cut transversely. This sort usually 

 boils soft, of a bright pink colour, exhibiting the white rings, 

 and has a good sweet flavour : but it is sometimes coarse, 

 and its size renders it rather incommodious for use. In 

 habit it approaches the Mangel Wurzel. 



The second sort comes from the English gardens only, 

 where it is called the Long Rooted Red Beet. A very small 

 part of the root of this appears above ground ; the leaves 



