578 Report on Remarkable Esculent Vegetables 



must be raised in heat, and the plants kept singly in small 

 pots till the end of May, or beginning of June, when they 

 should be turned out into the open border destined for them, 

 and protected by hand-glasses from the frost, the mould 

 being also well watered. The plants should be at nine feet 

 distance from each other, and will soon fill up the intervals. 

 From three to ten plants should be put out, according to the 

 number of the family to be supplied with the produce. 



Sea Beet. Beta Maritima. 

 The leaves of this Beet have been of late years ascertained 

 to be an excellent substitute for Spinach, and are even pre- 

 ferred by many to that delicate vegetable. There are two 

 distinct varieties of it cultivated in the garden of the Horti- 

 cultural Society. They are perennial, and, if planted in a 

 good soil, will continue to supply the table with their leaves 

 for any number of years. The readiest method of increasing 

 them is by seeds, but they may be multiplied to a small ex- 

 tent by dividing the roots. The early produced leaves are 

 the best, and these are fit for use from the middle of April, 

 until the plants begin to run to flower ; but they may be con- 

 tinued in perfection through the whole summer and autumn 

 by cutting off the flowering stems as they arise, and thus pre- 

 venting the blossoming. 



English Sea Beet. 

 This is the common state of the species. The plants 

 which are grown in the garden of the Horticultural Society 

 were sent from the sea coast of Sussex, between Worthing and 

 Lancing, by Mr. Henry Phillips, as a new vegetable, in 



