Beet-root. 
73 
on  pp.  74  and  75,  represent  Eunner  Beans  grown  without  sticks. 
They  are  from  photographs  taken  on  September  7,  1903. 
Broad  Bean. — This  is  a valuable  and  accommodating  crop 
from  the  consumer’s  point  of  view,  but  it  is  not  likely  to  make 
many  growers  wealthy.  The  wholesale  prices  vaiy  from 
4d.  to  2s.  per  bushel,  and  as  300  bushels  per  acre  is  a good 
average  crop,  15Z.  per  acre  may  be  considered  a fair  return. 
But  the  Broad  Bean  has  another  Aalue,  it  is  a good  nurse  for 
vegetable  marrows  and  ridge  cucumbers.  A series  of  rows  of 
beans  at  four  or  five  feet  apart  ])rovide  nice  shelter  for  the  more 
tender  successional  croj)S,  hence  it  is  worth  more  than  its  actual 
market  value  when  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  earliest  sowing  may  be  made  at  the  end  of  October  ; 
the  next  in  January  or  February  ; and  for  successional  crops 
up  to  the  month  of  May  or  even  June.  Autumn-sown  beans 
are  liable  to  rot  during  a wet  winter. 
Beet. — The  Beet-root  of  gardens  is  a tender  biennial.  It 
requires  a deep  and  rich  soil  in  which  to  grow  to  perfection. 
Fresh  applications  of  manure  are  superfluous,  and  may  be 
harmful,  as  bifurcation  of  the  root  is  thereby  frecjuently 
caused. 
Good  Beet  should  be  three  inches  to  three  and  a half  inches 
in  diameter  at  the  widest  part.  The  root  should  be  gently 
tapering  to  the  extremity,  straight  and  smooth,  and  symmetrical 
in  outline,  A^ery  dark  crimson  in  colour,  and  nearly  destitute  of 
fibre.  Ground  which  has  had  runner  beans  or  celery  as  a 
previous  croj)  will  produce  Beet  of  the  quality  described  if  seed 
of  a good  A'ariety  is  sown  about  the  end  of  April. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  in  drills  an  inch  and  a half  deep, 
and  the  drills  should  be  fifteen  inches  apart.  When  the  seed- 
lings are  suflficiently  large  to  handle  they  should  be  thinned 
out  to  eight  or  nine  inches  apart. 
Lift  the  roots  carefully  at  the  end  of  October  and  store 
them  away  in  frost-proof  pits,  “ hurries,”  or  sheds. 
It  has  been  my  custom  dxiring  the  last  twenty-eight  years 
to  bastard-trench,  each  winter,  the  ground  upon  whicR  I 
propose  to  groA\^  beet,  carrots,  and  ])arsnips.  By  adopting 
and  continuing  that  system,  my  root  crops  have  ahvays  been 
excellent  in  quality  and  quantity  under  otherAvise  normal 
culture.  Other  crops  are  also  better  Avhen  the  rotation  carries 
them  to  the  more  deeply  cultiA^ated  ground  ; and  in  due  time 
the  whole  area  has  undergone  the  same  operation,  and  is  re- 
peated about  every  five  years.  By  this  system  the  beet  crop 
i 
