Propagation by seeds germinate beet at 18°41° (65°-70° F.), tolerating a max. of 26° (80° F.), and a min. of 13° (55° F.). During the cold season, they are sown under glass; but during hot weather and rains, in open beds, sheltered by thatched roofs, about 5 ft. above the soil in front, and 2 ft. behind. The best soil is rich, mellow vegetable-mould, alone, or mixed with clean, sharp sand. This is sifted, and spread in layers 2-3 in. deep and 5 ft. wide, on beds of cleared ground, of any convenient length, running E. and W., and with the open side towards the N. To prevent water lodging in them, they must elope to one side, a condition beat attained by forming terraces on a hill-side, and providing a path and a drain to each. Before sowing, the soil is rendered uni formly firm (but not hard) and smooth, by working it through the hand and gently pressing it down. The seeds are then placed loosely in bags, and immersed in cold water, undergoing twelve hours soaking if fresh, but only six if they have been kept for some time. When taken out, they are gently stirred with dry sand, to separate them, and are thickly scattered on the beds, and lightly covered with a sprinkling of dry sand, intended only to steady them and get them into contact with the soil, and not to cover them ; the beds may then be very gently pressed with a smooth board. Water is applied in the morning, and, if necessary, during the day, but not at late evening ; deluging must be avoided, while a uniform moisture is maintained ; the temperature of the water should approach that of the air. Additional shade and shelter have sometimes to be provided. Under glass, extra careful shading is necessary ; and, after watering, especial care must be taken that the leaves become quite dry, before closing the frames. Every precaution will have to be taken against damping off; in very wet weather, the plants are sometimes infested by a fungus, whose ravages may be checked by gently atirring the soil. Germination takes place in 2-6 weeks.
Pricking out the seedlings have 2-3 pairs of leaves, they are put out into nursery-beds, resembling the seed-beds, but having a thicker layer of soil. They are beat removed by inserting a small stick beneath them, and loosening the soil, so that they may be lifted out by the leaves, without the least injury to the rootlets. Holes 1 in. apart, in lines 2 in. apart, deep enough to receive the outstretched roots of the plants, are made by means of a stick ; into these, the seedlings are carefully placed, and the earth is filled in and pressed round, so as to thoroughly occupy the hole. Sometimes the seedlings are placed first in shallow boxes, which can be put under glass if necessary. When 4 in. high, the plants are re-transplanted, at distances of about 4 in. each way ; and when they have reached 9-12 in., they are placed in their permanent situations. The seedlings may be hardened before the final transplanting, by removing the thatch for about a fort night, commencing only in dull, cloudy weather. From the sowing to the final transplantation, some 8-12 months are required, during which the soil must be kept uniformly moist without being wet.
Propagation by planted in the open air and partially shaded will form roots in 3-5 months, and this is perhaps the easiest, cheapest, and safest plan of propagation, especially for inexperienced cultivators. It is, however, very slow ; and when a rapid increase of plants is required, a propagating house must be need. In either case, the cuttings are selected from wood of the current year's growth, preference being given to young shoots springing from the lower part of the stem ; they are removed in pieces about 3-5 in. long, just below the point where a pair of leaves grow. Young unexpended leaves, if any, are left on the cutting ; but larger ones are pinched off at the base. Red bark cuttings may be put out in beds, such as bave been described for seedlings, or in boxes 2 in. deep, filled with mould and sand, and covered with a layer of sand to promote drainage ; they take root in 2-4 months.
The principles of the propa gating house are shown in Figs.
571 and 572 ; a is a flue leading from a furnace, and having a gradual rise towards the exit end ; it passes beneath the cases b, filled with pots ; c is a water-tank, placed over the flue, in order that its con tents may be warmed ; d are pots, placed on shelves attached to the wall, between and below the windows ; e is a path. The cuttings aa prepared are placed in 4-in. pots (Fig. 573); the cuttings a are set in a layer of pounded brick-dust b, under which is the ordinary potting mould c, resting upon a stratum of moss d, and a potsherd e, to facilitate drainage. These pots rest as at b (Fig. 571), in a bed of damn sand, exposed to a bottom heat of about 24° (75° F.). The atmosphere of the house is kept moist by means of a very fine syringe, but the cuttings must never be watered. When the cuttings have become rooted in the propagating cases, the pots are bodily removed to other cases, where i the plants are hardened off; when sufficiently hardy, they are taken up, and placed singly in pots about 31. in. deep and 2 in. in diameter, formed of a mixture of cow-dung and sand, as shown in Fig. 574. Before use, these pots are dried in the sun, which renders them as strong as an ordinary pot ; when buried, they become suf ficiently soft to be penetrated by the roots, but remain sufficiently cohesive to bear handling. They are made by hand at the rate of 400-500 a day, and cost but 1 per cent. of the price of an ordinary flower-pot.
When the plants are to be put out in their permanent positions, they are removed bodily in the pots, and trans ported on deal trays ; holes are prepared for them at distances of 2-1 in apart, and the plants and pots together are placed in the holes, and filled round with earth up to the level of the stem, as shown in Fig. 575. This done, the plants are at once shaded with rough slabs of wood, arranged as shown in Fig. 576 ; and when they have grown above the wood, they are protected from chafing, by a grass rope twisted round the top.