THE STORY OF ROOT CROPS stem and set out they produce potatoes the same as the original plant. Like the Irish potato it sometimes blooms but seeds only in instances where climatic conditions suit its requirements. New varieties are propagated where the potato blooms and seeds. This tuber is a starchy article of food and factories are making starch commercially from it the same as is done of corn and cas- sava. It is found in various parts of the world and does not seem to be indigenous to any one continent. The yam is kept through the winter in bins or kilns in the fields as they are an all-year-round food. They are bedded out in the spring for securing new plants. It is as important a crop in tropical countries as the white potato is in Europe, and is used for man and domestic animals. BEETS The beet is a vegetable with a thick, fleshy tap-root. It is a cultivated form of the plant beta vulgaris. It is a native of southern Eu- rope and northern Africa. Not so many va- rieties of the beet are used as a table food. Another variety is used for the making of sug- [139]