LEAF-BEET, OR SWISS CHARD.
Sicilian Beet. White Beet. Beta cicla.
The Leaf-beet is a native of the seacoasts of Spain and Portugal. It is a biennial plant, and is cultivated for its leaves and leaf-stalks. The roots are much branched or divided, hard, fibrous, and unfit for use.
Propagation and Cultivation.—It is propagated, like other beets, from seed sown annually, and will thrive in any good garden soil. The sowing may be made at any time in April or May, in drills eighteen inches apart, and an inch and a half deep. "When the plants are a few inches high, so that those likely to make the best growth can be distinguished, they should be thinned out to nine inches or a foot apart, according to the richness of the soil; more room being allowed in rich ground. Some, however, should be left at half that distance, to make up by transplanting any vacancies that may occur. The ground should be kept clean, and occasionally stirred between the rows; taking care not to injure the roots. In dry weather, plenty of water should be given to promote the succulence of the leaves."—Thomp.
Taking the Crop.—"The largest and fullest-grown leaves should be gathered first; others will follow. If grown for Spinach, the leaves should be rinsed in clean water, and afterwards placed in a basket to drain dry; if for Chard, or for the leaf-stalks and veins, these should be carefully preserved, and the entire leaves tied up in bundles of six or eight in each."—M'Int.
Seed.—During the first season, select a few vigorous plants, and allow them to grow unplucked. Just before the closing-up of the ground in autumn, take up the roots; and, after removing the tops an inch above the crown, pack them in dry sand in the cellar. The following spring, as soon as the ground is in working order, set them out with the crowns level with the surface of the ground, and about two feet and a half apart. As the plants increase in height, tie them to stakes, to prevent injury from wind; and in August, when the seed is ripe, cut off the stems near the ground, and spread them entire, in an airy situation, till they are sufficiently dried for threshing out.
The seed, or fruit, has the appearance peculiar to the family; although those of the different varieties, like the seeds of the Red Beet, vary somewhat in size, and shade of color.
An ounce of seed will sow a hundred feet of drill, or be sufficient for a nursery-bed of fifty square feet.
Use.—"This species of Beet—for, botanically considered, it is a distinct species from Beta vulgaris, the Common or Red Beet—is cultivated exclusively for its leaves; whereas the Red Beet is grown for its roots. These leaves are boiled like Spinach, and also put into soups. The midribs and stalks, which are separated from the lamina of the leaf, are stewed and eaten like Asparagus, under the name of "Chard." As a spinaceous plant, the White Beet might be grown to great advantage in the vegetable garden, as it affords leaves fit for use during the whole summer."—M'Int.