The Field and Garden Vegetables of America | Page 9

to many garden varieties. In France, it is largely cultivated for the manufacture of sugar and for distillation.
Of the two sub-varieties, some cultivators prefer the Green-top; others, the Rose-colored or Red-top. The latter is the larger, more productive, and the better keeper; but the former is the more sugary. It is, however, very difficult to preserve the varieties in a pure state; much of the seed usually sown containing, in some degree, a mixture of both.
It is cultivated in all respects as the Long Red Mangel Wurzel, and the yield per acre varies from twenty to thirty tons.
WHITE TURNIP-ROOTED.
A variety of the Early Turnip-rooted Blood, with green leaves and white flesh; the size and form of the root, and season of maturity, being nearly the same. Quality tender, sweet, and well flavored; but, on account of its color, not so marketable as the last named.
WYATT'S DARK CRIMSON.
Whyte's Dark Crimson. Rouge de Whyte. Vil.
Root sixteen inches long, five inches in diameter, fusiform, and somewhat angular in consequence of broad and shallow longitudinal furrows or depressions. Crown conical, brownish. Skin smooth, slate-black. Flesh very deep purplish-red, circled and rayed with yet deeper shades of red, very fine-grained, and remarkably sugary. Leaves deep red, shaded with brownish-red: those of the centre, erect; those of the outside, spreading or horizontal.
The variety is not early, but of fine quality; keeps remarkably well, and is particularly recommended for cultivation for winter and spring use. Much esteemed in England.
YELLOW CASTELNAUDARY. Trans. Vil.
Root produced within the earth, broadest at the crown, where its diameter is nearly three inches, and tapering gradually to a point; the length being about eight inches. Skin orange-yellow. Flesh clear yellow, with paler zones or rings. Leaves spreading, those on the outside being on stems about four inches in length; the inner ones are shorter, numerous, of a dark-green color, and rather waved on the edges: the leaf-stems are green, rather than yellow.
An excellent table-beet, being tender, yet firm, and very sweet when boiled, although its color is not so agreeable to the eye.
YELLOW GLOBE MANGEL WURZEL.
Betterave Jaune Globe. Vil.
[Illustration: Yellow Globe Mangel Wurzel.]
This is a globular-formed beet, measuring about ten inches in diameter, and weighing ten or twelve pounds; about one-half of the root growing above ground. Skin yellow, where it is covered by the soil; and yellowish-brown above the surface, where exposed to light and air. Flesh white, zoned or marked with yellow, close-grained and sugary. Leaves not large or numerous, rather erect, green; the stems and ribs paler, and sometimes yellowish.
The Yellow Globe is one of the most productive of all the varieties; and, though not adapted to table use, is particularly excellent for stock of all descriptions, as the roots are not only remarkably sugary, but contain a considerable portion of albumen. It retains its soundness and freshness till the season has far advanced, does not sprout so early in spring as many others, and is especially adapted for cultivation in hard, shallow soil.
The yield varies from thirty to forty tons per acre, according to soil, season, and culture; although crops are recorded of fifty tons and upwards.
Sow from the last of April to the last of May; but early sowings succeed best. If sown in drills, they should be made twenty inches apart, and the plants should be thinned to ten inches apart in the drills; if sown on ridges, sow in double rows, making the ridges three feet and a half, and the rows sixteen inches apart. On account of its globular form, the crop can be harvested with great facility by the use of a common plough.
YELLOW TURNIP-ROOTED.
A sub-variety of the Blood Turnip-rooted, differing principally in color, but to some extent also in its form, which is less compressed. Leaves large, yellowish-green; the leaf-stems and nerves yellow. Flesh yellow, comparatively close-grained, sweet and tender.
Not much cultivated on account of its color; the red varieties being preferred for table use.
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THE CARROT.
Daucus carota.
The Carrot, in its cultivated state, is a half-hardy biennial. It is indigenous to some parts of Great Britain, generally growing in chalky or sandy soil, and to some extent has become naturalized in this country; being found in gravelly pastures and mowing fields, and occasionally by roadsides, in loose places, where the surface has been disturbed or removed. In its native state, the root is small, slender, and fibrous, or woody, of no value, and even of questionable properties as an article of food.
Soil, Sowing, and Culture.--The Carrot flourishes best in a good, light, well-enriched loam. Where there is a choice of situations, heavy and wet soils should be avoided; and, where extremes are alternatives, preference should be given to the light and dry. If possible, the ground should be stirred to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches, incorporating a liberal