Read Ebook: The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Containing Full Descriptions of Nearly Eleven Hundred Species and Varietes; With Directions for Propagation Culture and Use. by Burr Fearing

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The Beet. Carrot. Chervil, Turnip-rooted. Chinese Potato, or Japanese Yam. Chufa, or Earth Almond. German Rampion. Jerusalem Artichoke. Kohl Rabi. Oxalis, Tuberous. Oxalis, Deppe's. Parsnip. Potato. Radish. Rampion. Swede or Ruta-baga Turnip. Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scolymus. Scorzonera. Skirret. Sweet Potato. Tuberous-rooted Chickling Vetch. Tuberous-rooted Tropaeolum. Turnip. 1-121

The Cive. Garlic. Leek. Onion. Rocambole. Shallot. Welsh Onion. 122-148

The Artichoke. Asparagus. Cardoon. Hop. Oosung. Phytolacca. 149-169

The Cucumber. Egyptian Cucumber. Globe Cucumber. Gourd, or Calabash. The Melon. Musk-melon. Persian Melons. Water-melon. Papanjay, or Sponge Cucumber. Prickly-fruited Gherkin. Pumpkin. Snake Cucumber. Squash. 170-228

Borecole, or Kale. Broccoli. Brussels Sprouts. Cabbage. Cauliflower. Colewort. Couve Tronchuda, or Portugal Cabbage. Pak-Ch?i. Pe-Tsai, or Chinese Cabbage. Savoy. Sea-kale. 229-286

Amaranthus. Black Nightshade. Leaf-beet, or Swiss Chard. Malabar Nightshade. Nettle. New-Zealand Spinach. Orach. Patience Dock. Quinoa. Sea-beet. Shepherd's Purse. Sorrel. Spinach. Wild or Perennial Spinach. 287-314

Alexanders. Brook-lime. Buckshorn Plantain. Burnet. Caterpillar. Celery. Celeriac, or Turnip-rooted Celery. Chervil. Chiccory, or Succory. Corchorus. Corn Salad. Cress, or Peppergrass. Cuckoo Flower. Dandelion. Endive. Horse-radish. Lettuce. Madras Radish. Mallow, Curled-leaf. Mustard. Nasturtium. Garden Picridium. Purslain. Rape. Roquette, or Rocket. Samphire. Scurvy-grass. Snails. Sweet-scented Chervil, or Sweet Cicely. Tarragon. Valeriana. Water-cress. Winter-cress, or Yellow Rocket. Wood-sorrel. Worms. 315-405

Angelica. Anise. Balm. Basil. Borage. Caraway. Clary. Coriander. Costmary. Cumin. Dill. Fennel. Lavender. Lovage. Marigold. Marjoram. Nigella. Parsley. Peppermint. Rosemary. Sage. Savory. Spearmint. Tansy. Thyme. 406-449

American Garden-bean. Asparagus-bean. Lima Bean. Scarlet-runner. Sieva. Chick-pea. Chickling Vetch. English Bean. Lentil. Lupine. Pea. Pea-nut. Vetch, or Tare. Winged Pea. 450-560

Bene-plant. Camomile. Coltsfoot. Elecampane. Hoarhound. Hyssop. Licorice. Pennyroyal. Poppy. Palmate-leaved or Turkey Rhubarb. Rue. Saffron. Southernwood. Wormwood. 561-578

Agaricus. Boletus. Clavaria. Morchella, or Morel. Tuber, or Truffle. 579-591

Alkekengi, or Ground Cherry. Corn. Egg-plant. Martynia. Oil Radish. Okra, or Gumbo. Pepper. Rhubarb, or Pie-plant. Sunflower. Tobacco. Tomato. 592-652

INDEX 655

FIELD AND GARDEN VEGETABLES.

ESCULENT ROOTS.

The Beet. Carrot. Chervil, Turnip-rooted. Chinese Potato, or Japanese Yam. Chufa, or Earth Almond. German Rampion. Jerusalem Artichoke. Kohl Rabi. Oxalis, Tuberous. Oxalis, Deppes. Parsnip. Potato. Radish. Rampion. Swede, or Ruta-baga Turnip. Salsify, or Oyster Plant. Scolymus. Scorzonera. Skirret. Sweet Potato. Tuberous-rooted Chickling Vetch. Tuberous-rooted Tropaeolum. Turnip.

THE BEET.

Beta vulgaris.

The Common Beet, sometimes termed the Red Beet, is a half-hardy biennial plant; and is cultivated for its large, succulent, sweet, and tender roots. These attain their full size during the first year, but will not survive the winter in the open ground. The seed is produced the second year; after the ripening of which, the plant perishes.

When fully developed, the beet-plant rises about four feet in height, with an angular, channelled stem; long, slender branches; and large, oblong, smooth, thick, and fleshy leaves. The flowers are small, green, and are either sessile, or produced on very short peduncles. The calyxes, before maturity, are soft and fleshy; when ripe, hard and wood-like in texture. These calyxes, which are formed in small, united, rounded groups, or clusters, are of a brownish color, and about one-fourth of an inch in diameter; the size, however, as well as depth of color, varying, to some extent, in the different varieties. Each of these clusters of dried calyxes contains from two to four of the true seeds, which are quite small, smooth, kidney-shaped, and of a deep reddish-brown color.

These dried clusters, or groups, are usually recognized as the seeds; about fifteen hundred of which will weigh one ounce. They retain their vitality from seven to ten years.

A well-digested compost, formed of barnyard manure, loam and salt, makes the best fertilizer. Where this is not to be obtained, guano, superphosphate of lime, or bone-dust, may be employed advantageously as a substitute. Wood-ashes, raked or harrowed in just previous to sowing the seed, make an excellent surface-dressing, as they not only prevent the depredations of insects, but give strength and vigor to the young plants. The application of coarse, undigested, strawy manure, tends to the production of forked and misshapen roots, and should be avoided.

Mr. Thompson states that "the drills for the smaller varieties should be about sixteen inches apart, and the plants should be thinned out to nine inches apart in the rows. The large sorts may have eighteen inches between the rows, but still not more than nine inches from plant to plant in the row. When large-sized roots are desired, the rows may be eighteen inches or two feet apart, and the plants twelve or fifteen inches distant from each other in the rows. But large roots are not the best for the table; and it is better to have two medium-sized roots, grown at nine inches apart, than one of perhaps double the size from twice the space. As a square foot of ground should afford plenty of nourishment to produce a root large enough for the table, the area for each plant may, therefore, be limited to that extent. If the rows are sixteen inches apart, and the plants thinned to nine inches in the row, each plant will have a space equal to a square foot. Such, of course, would also be the case if the rows were twelve inches apart, and the plants the same distance from each other in the row. But it is preferable to allow a greater space between the rows than between the plants in the row: for, by this arrangement, the leaves have better scope to grow to each side, and the plants so situated grow better than those which have an equal but rather limited space in all directions; whilst the ground can also be more easily stirred, and kept clean."

For winter use, the roots must be taken up before the occurrence of heavy frosts, as severe cold not only greatly impairs their quality, but causes them to decay at the crown. Remove the leaves, being careful not to cut or bruise the crown; spread the roots in the sun a few hours to dry; pack them in sand or earth slightly moist; and place in the cellar, out of reach of frost, for the winter.

"The London market-gardeners winter their beets in large sheds, stored in moderately damp mould, and banked up with straw. Mr. Cuthill states that it is a mistake to pack them in dry sand or earth for the winter; and that the same may be said of parsnips, carrots, salsify, scorzonera, and similar roots.

If harvested before receiving injury from cold, and properly packed, they will retain, in a good degree, their freshness and sweetness until the new crop is suitable for use.

In harvesting, cut off the plants near the ground, and spread them in a light and airy situation till they are sufficiently dried for threshing, or stripping off the seeds; after which the seeds should be exposed, to evaporate any 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.

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.

The kinds now in cultivation are as follows; viz.:--

Oak Bark-skinned.

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.

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.

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 its small size, it requires little space, and may be grown in rows twelve inches apart.

Serpent-like Beet. Cow-horn Scarcity.

A sub-variety of the Mangel Wurzel, producing its roots almost entirely above ground; only a small portion growing within the earth. Root long and slender, two feet and a half in length, and nearly three inches in diameter at its broadest part; often grooved or furrowed lengthwise, and almost invariably bent and distorted,--the effect either of the wind, or of the weight of its foliage. Flesh greenish white, circled with red at the centre. Leaves of medium size, green, erect; the leaf-stems and nerves pale red or rose color.

It derives its different names from its various contorted forms; sometimes resembling a horn, and often assuming a shape not unlike that of a serpent.

The variety is much esteemed and extensively cultivated in some parts of Europe, although less productive than the White Sugar or Long Red Mangel Wurzel.

EARLY MANGEL WURZEL.

Aside from its smaller size, this variety much resembles the Common Red Mangel Wurzel. Root contracted towards the crown, which rises two or three inches above the surface of the soil, and tapering within the earth to a regular cone. Skin purplish rose, deeper colored than that of the last named. Flesh white, circled or zoned with pale red. Leaves spreading, green; the leaf-stems rose-colored.

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