The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 3

RED GLOBE MANGEL WURZEL.

Betterave Globe Rouge. _Vil._

Root nearly spherical, but tapering to pear-shaped at the base; nearly one-third produced above ground. Size large; well-grown specimens measuring seven or eight inches in diameter, and nine or ten inches in depth. Skin smooth, and of a rich purplish rose-color below ground; brown above the surface, where exposed to the sun. Flesh white, rarely circled, with rose-red. Leaves pale green, or yellowish green; the stems and ribs or nerves sometimes veined with red.

This variety is productive, keeps well, and, like the Yellow Globe, is well adapted to hard and shallow soils. It is usually cultivated for agricultural purposes, although the yield is comparatively less than that of the last named.

In moist soils, the Yellow Globe succeeds best; and, as its quality is considered superior, it is now more generally cultivated than the Red.

WHITE GLOBE MANGEL WURZEL.

A sub-variety of the Yellow and Red Globe, which, in form and manner of growth, it much resembles. Skin above ground, green; below, white.

Leaves green. Flesh white and sugary; but, like the foregoing sorts, not fine grained, or suited for table use.

Productive, easily harvested, excellent and profitable for farm purposes, and remarkably well adapted for cultivation in hard, shallow soil.

WHITE SUGAR.

White Silesian. Betterave Blanche. _Vil._

[Ill.u.s.tration: White Sugar Beet.]

Root fusiform, sixteen inches in length, six or seven inches in its greatest diameter, contracted towards the crown, thickest just below the surface of the soil, but nearly retaining its size for half the depth, and thence tapering regularly to a point. Skin white, washed with green or rose-red at the crown. Flesh white, crisp, and very sugary. Leaves green; the leaf-stems clear green, or green stained with light red, according to the variety.

The White Sugar Beet is quite extensively grown in this country, and is employed almost exclusively as feed for stock; although the young roots are sweet, tender, and well flavored, and in all respects superior for the table 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._

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 alb.u.men. 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 princ.i.p.ally 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.

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 application of well-digested compost, and well pulverizing the soil in the operation. The surface should next be levelled, cleared as much as possible of stones and hard lumps of earth, and made mellow and friable; in which state, if the ground contains sufficient moisture to color the surface when it is stirred, it will be ready for the seed. This may be sown from the first of April to the 20th of May; but early sowings succeed best. The drills should be made an inch in depth; and for the smaller, garden varieties, about ten inches apart. The larger sorts are grown in drills about fourteen inches apart; the plants in the rows being thinned to five or six inches asunder.

_Harvesting._--The roots attain their full size by the autumn of the first year; and, as they are not perfectly hardy, should be dug and housed before the ground is frozen. When large quant.i.ties are raised for stock, they are generally placed in bulk in the cellar, without packing; but the finer sorts, when intended for the table, are usually packed in earth or sand, in order to retain their freshness and flavor. With ordinary precaution, they will remain sound and fresh until May or June.

_Seed._--To raise seed, select good-sized, smooth, and symmetrical roots; and as early in spring as the frost is out of the ground, and the weather settled, transplant to rows three feet apart, and fifteen inches apart in the rows, sinking the crowns just below a level with the surface of the ground. The seed-stalks are from four to six feet in height, with numerous branches. The flowers appear in June and July; are white; and are produced at the extremities of the branches, in umbels, or flat, circular groups or cl.u.s.ters, from two to five inches in diameter. The seed ripens in August; but, as all the heads do not ripen at once, they should be cut off as they successively mature. The stiff, pointed hairs or bristles with which the seeds are thickly covered, and which cause them to adhere together, should be removed either by thres.h.i.+ng or by rubbing between the hands; clearing them more or less perfectly, according to the manner of sowing. If sown by a machine, the seeds should not only be free from broken fragments of the stems of the plant, but the surface should be made as smooth as possible. For hand-sowing, the condition of the seed is less essential; though, when clean, it can be distributed in the drill more evenly and with greater facility.

The seeds of the several varieties differ little in size, form, or color, and are not generally distinguishable from each other. They will keep well two years; and if preserved from dampness, and placed in a cool situation, a large percentage will vegetate when three years old.

In the vegetable garden, an ounce of seed is allowed for one hundred and fifty feet of drill; and, for field culture, about two pounds for an acre.

An ounce contains twenty-four thousand seeds.

_Use._--Though not relished by all palates, carrots are extensively employed for culinary purposes, and are generally considered healthful and nutritious. They form an important ingredient in soups, stews, and French dishes of various descriptions; and by many are much esteemed, when simply boiled, and served with meats or fish.