Anthony Florian Madinger Willich, Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)
“ The stalk of the latter grows to the height of seven or eight feet; and the root weighs from eight to twelve pounds. This variety of the root of scarcity is the true Mangel-wurzel, which some years since excited much attention in Britain; though there is reason to suppose that other species of the beet have been frequently mistaken for the Beta albissima; the root of which is white, juicy, and streaked with red fibres: it is sown like cabbage, and to prevent injury to the fibres of the root, the young plants must not be pulled, but dug up with a spade ”
