BEETS.
Beets are produced in enormous quantities by market gardeners near all large cities, both under glass and in the open ground. They also have a place in the farm garden, as they are of easy culture.
Crosby's Improved Egyptian, the Earliest Blood Turnip Beet.
Excellence in the table beet depends partly on variety, but mainly on the quickness of growth. Sweetness and succulence result from high culture in rich, mellow soil.
Mangels and sugar beets, of course, have a place on every farm, for stock-feeding purposes, and table beets may also be grown, if good soil is available, for market purposes. The winter-keeping sorts are frequently in demand, and may be included among the farmer's cash crops.
No amount of stable manure is excessive in beet-growing. Partially rotted manure is best. For horse culture the rows should be 3 feet apart. Five to six pounds of seed will plant an acre.
Planting.—Planting may be done as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, as the beet is hardy, and not injured by a little frost; and successional plantings may be made until June. The June sowing will produce autumn beets, which can be stored for winter use or sale.
It is well to soak the seed in tepid water before planting; it should be scattered thinly in the rows and lightly covered. In dry weather the soil must be pressed firmly on the seed, to insure sufficient moisture for germination. The plants in the rows should be thinned out to 3 or 4 inches.
It is very important to remember that the more space each plant has about it the sooner will it reach a marketable size. Beet plants standing 5 inches apart in the row will be ready long before plants standing only 2 inches apart.
Beets vary in shape very considerably. Some are round and some are long, with intermediate grades. The turnip-shaped beets are the earliest, while the half-longs and longs are the heaviest. For market purposes, if sold in bunches, the round ones are the most profitable.
Ford's Perfected Half-long Beet. The Best Winter Keeper.
The color of the foliage varies greatly; but the color of the leaf is not always typical of the root. Some of the blood beets have green leaves. There are many shades and colors of the roots, from deepest blood red to white, with zones of pink. The beet is an excellent and highly esteemed article of food, and is always in demand.
Beets.—For earliest, we especially recommend Crosby's Improved Egyptian and Surprise; for winter, Ford's Perfected Half-Long. Please see "Johnson & Stokes' Garden and Farm Manual."
Marketing and Storing.—A bunch contains five, six or seven beets, with tops tied together and superfluous leaves cut off. The bunching and topping may be done in the field, and the bunches afterward washed in a tub of water, by means of a scrubbing brush. It always pays to send roots to market in a clean and attractive condition.
Winter storage in cellars, under sand, is often practiced; or the beets may be kept in pits in the open ground, covered with straw and earth.
Enemies.—The beet is remarkably free from enemies of any kind. The root sometimes cracks, and is occasionally attacked by insects, but the farmer or gardener has little to fear if soil be good and weather be favorable. All farmers attending market should have a few beets to help make up the weekly load for the wagon.