The Field and Garden Vegetables of America | Page 5

remaining moisture.
An ounce of seed will sow from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
feet of drill, according to the size of the variety; and about four pounds
will be required for one acre.
Use.--"The roots are the parts generally used, and are boiled, stewed,
and also eaten cold, sliced in vinegar and oil. They enter into mixed
salads, and are much used for garnishing; and, for all these purposes,
the deeper colored they are, the more they are appreciated. Some,
however, it ought to be noticed, prefer them of a bright-red color; but
all must be of fine quality in fibre, solid, and of uniform color. The
roots are also eaten cut into thin slices, and baked in an oven. Dried,
roasted, and ground, they are sometimes mixed with coffee, and are
also much employed as a pickle. Mixed with dough, they make a
wholesome bread; but, for this purpose, the white or yellow rooted
sorts are preferred. The roots of all the varieties are better baked than
boiled."--M'Int.
The young plants make an excellent substitute for spinach; and the
leaves of some of the kinds, boiled when nearly full grown, and served
as greens, are tender and well-flavored.
Some of the larger varieties are remarkably productive, and are
extensively cultivated for agricultural purposes. From a single acre of
land in good condition, thirty or forty tons are frequently harvested; and
exceptional crops are recorded of fifty, and even sixty tons. In France,
the White Sugar-beet is largely employed for the manufacture of
sugar,--the amount produced during one year being estimated to exceed
that annually made from the sugar-cane in the State of Louisiana.
For sheep, dairy-stock, and the fattening of cattle, experience has
proved the beet to be at once healthful, nutritious, and economical.
Varieties.--The varieties are quite numerous, and vary to a considerable

extent in size, form, color, and quality. They are obtained by crossing,
or by the intermixture of one kind with another. This often occurs
naturally when two or more varieties are allowed to run to seed in close
proximity, but is sometimes performed artificially by transferring the
pollen from the flower of a particular variety to the stigma of the flower
of another.
The kinds now in cultivation are as follows; viz.:--
BARK-SKINNED. Vil.
Oak Bark-skinned.
[Illustration: Bark-skinned Beet.]
Root produced entirely within the earth, broadest near the crown, and
thence tapering regularly to a point; average specimens measuring four
inches in their greatest diameter, and about one foot in depth. Skin dark
brown, thick, hard, and wrinkled, or striated, sometimes reticulated or
netted, much resembling the bark of some descriptions of trees; whence
the name. Flesh very deep purplish-red, circled, and rayed with paler
red, fine-grained, sugary, and tender. Leaves numerous, spreading,
bright green, slightly stained with red; the leaf-stems and nerves bright
purplish-red.
An early and comparatively new French variety, of fine flavor,
excellent for summer use, and, if sown as late as the second week in
June, equally valuable for the table during winter. Not recommended
for field culture.
Sow in rows fourteen inches apart, and thin to six inches apart in the
rows.
BARROTT'S NEW CRIMSON. Thomp.
Root similar in form to the Castelnaudary, but somewhat larger;
smooth and regular, and not apt to fork. Flesh dark crimson,
fine-grained and tender. Leaf-stalks yellow.

BASSANO.
Early Flat Bassano. Turnip-rooted Bassano. Rouge Plate de Bassano.
Vil.
Bulb flattened; six or seven inches in diameter by three or four inches
in depth; not very regular or symmetrical, but often somewhat ribbed,
and terminating in a very small, slender tap-root. Skin of fine texture;
brown above ground; below the surface, clear rose-red. Flesh white,
circled or zoned with bright pink; not very close-grained, but very
sugary and well-flavored. Leaves numerous, erect, of a lively green
color, forming many separate groups, or tufts, covering the entire top,
or crown, of the root. Leaf-stems short, greenish-white, washed or
stained with rose.
An Italian variety, generally considered the earliest of garden-beets,
being from seven to ten days earlier than the Early Blood Turnip-rooted.
The flesh, although much coarser than that of many other sorts, is
tender, sweet, and of good quality. Roots from early sowings are,
however, not suited for winter use; as, when overgrown, they almost
invariably become too tough, coarse, and fibrous for table use. To have
them in perfection during winter, the seed should not be sown till near
the close of June.
In moist, favorable seasons, it succeeds well in comparatively poor,
thin soil.
Cultivate and preserve as directed for the Early Turnip-rooted.
CATTELL'S DWARF BLOOD.
Root small, regularly tapering. Flesh deep blood-red. Leaves small,
bright red, spreading, or inclined to grow horizontally. Quality
good,--similar to that of the Red Castelnaudary; which variety it much
resembles in its general character.
On account of