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feeds. Splnacia vulgaris, capfula feminis non echinata. 

 'i'ourn. InO". 53:5. Cowmen Spinach ivitb fced-vejfds 

 ^jshich are not prickly^ hut fmooth. 

 The firft fort was formerly more culcivated in the 

 l:*nglifli gardens than at prtfent, becaufe it is much 

 iiardier, fo not in much danger from cold, therefore 

 was generally cultivated for ufe in winter. The leaves 

 of diis are triangular, and fliaped like the point of an 

 arrow > the ftalks are hollow, branching, and her- 

 baceous \ they rife about two feet high. The male 

 flowers are produced in long fpikes \ they are herba- 

 ceous having no petals, but each has five (lender ila- 

 mina, terminated by oblong twin fummits filled with 

 a yellowifh farina, which, v^hen ripe, flies out on the 

 plants being iliaken, and fpreads all round \ thefe 

 plants after their farina is flied foon decay. The fe- 

 male flowers v/hich are upon feparate plants, fit in 

 cluilers clofe to the fl:alks at every joint; they are fmall, 

 herbaceous, and have neither ftamina or petals, but 

 have roundifh comprefled germen, which afterward 

 turn to roundilh feeds, armed with fhort acute fpines. 

 The plant flowers in June, and the feeds ripen the be- 

 ginning of Auguft. 



There are two or three varieties of this now cultivated 

 in the kitchen-gardens, which differ in the fize and 

 Ihape of their leaves, and their feeds being more or 

 lefs prickly. 



The feeds of this kind fliould be fown upon an open 

 fpot of ground the beginning of Auguft, obferving, 

 if pofllble, to do it when there is an appearance of 

 rain \ for if the feafon (hould proye dry for a long 

 time/after the feed is fown, the plants will not come 

 up regularly; part of them may come up fooh, and 

 a great part of them may remain till rain falls before 

 they come up, which if that fhould not happen in a 

 little tinie after, many times there will not be half a 

 crop. ' . When the Spinach is come up, and the plants 

 have four leaves, the ground {hould be hoed to deftroy 

 the weeds, and alfo to cut up the plants where they 

 are too clofe, leaving the remaining plants about three 

 or four inches afunder ; but this fhould always be 

 done in dry weather, that the weeds may be deftroyed 

 foon after they are cut. 



About a month or five weeks after the firfl: hoeing, 



, the weeds will begin to grow again ; therefore the 



ground fhould ^be^ then hoed again the fecond time, 



obferving, as before, to do it in dry weather.' But 

 if the feafon fliould prove moid, it will be prdpef 

 to gather the weeds up after they are cur, and carry 

 them off the ground ; for if the Spinach is not clean- 

 ed from weeds before v^inter, they will ^rov/ up and 

 flifle it fo much, that in wet weather the Spinach will 

 rot away 



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In Oftober the Spinach will be fit for ufe, when you 

 Ihould only crop off the largeft outer leaves, leaving 

 thpfe in the .center of the plants'to grow bigger ; and 

 thus you mav continue cropping it all the winter and 

 fpring, unnl'the young Spinach fowed in the fpring 

 is'large enough for ufe, which is commonly in April ; 

 at which time the fpring advancing, the Winter 

 Spinach will run up to feed ; fo that it fhould be all 

 cut up, leaving only a fmall parcel to produce feeds 

 if wanted. .> " ■...., 



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But if the ground in which this Winter Spinach is 

 .0wn, being commonly planted with early Cabbages, 

 it is not proper to let any of the Spinach remain there 

 tor feed ; therefore it lliould be cleared off as foon as 

 ever the Spring Spinach is fit for ufe, that the Cab- 

 bages maybe earthed up and laid clear, which is of 

 great fervice to them ; wherefore you fliould fow a 

 fmall fpot of ground with this fort of Spinach, on pur- 

 pofe to fl;and for feed, where there fhould be no other 

 plants among it. , 



The fecond fort differs from the firft in having oval 

 "thick leaves, which are not angular at their bafe ; the 

 feeds are fmooth having no fpines, and the fl:alks and 

 leaves are much more flefliy and fucculent : of this 

 there are two or three varieties, which differ in the 

 thicknefs and fize of their leaves, vv'hich in one are 

 much rounder and thicker than the other. 



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Thefe are fown in the fpring upon an open fpot of 

 ground by themfelves, or elfe mixed wi:h Radifli-fccd, 

 as is the common pradlice of the London gardeners, 

 who always endeavour to have as many crops from 

 their land in a feafon as pofnble ; but where, land is 

 cheap in the country, it will be the better method to 

 fow it alone without any other fort of feed mixed with 

 it ; and when the plants are come up, the ground 

 fhould be hoed to deftroy the weeds, anc^cutout the 

 plants where they are too clofe, leaving the rcmainino- 

 about three inches afunder; and when they are grown 

 fo large as to miCet, you may then cut out a part of 

 it for ufe, thinning the plants that they may have 

 room to fpread ; and this thinning may be twice per- 

 formed, as there is occafion for the herb, at the lafl 

 of which the roots fhould be left eight or ten inches 

 afunder; and if then you hoe the ground over again to 

 deftroy the weeds, it will be of "great fervice to the 

 Spinach ; for if the land is good upon which it is fown, 

 the fort with broad thick leaves, commonly called 

 Plantain Spinach, will with this management many 

 times produce leaves as large as the broad-leaved 

 Dock, and be extremely fine. 



But in order to have a lucceflion of Spinach through 

 the feafon, it will be proper to fow the feed at three 

 or four different times in the fpring ; the firft in Ja- 

 nuary, which muft be on a dry foit; the fecond the 

 beginning of February, upon a moifter foil ; the third 

 the beginning of March, which fhould be on a moift ' 

 foil; and the fourth the beginning of April; but thefe 

 late fowings fhould be hoed out thinner at the firft 

 time than either of the former, for there will be no 

 neceflity to leave it for cutting out thin for ufe, be- 

 caufe the former fmvings will be fufficient to fupply 

 the table till thefe are full grown ; befidcs, by leaving- 

 it thin at firft, it will not be apt to run up to feed fo - 

 foon as it would if the plants were clofe. 

 Thefe fowings here mentioned are fuch as are pra6lifed 

 by the kitchen-gardeners near London ; but as this 

 herb is much ufed in foups, &c. for great tables, 

 there fhould be fome feeds fown every three weeks, 

 during the fummer feafon, to fupply the kitchen; but 

 thefe late fowings fhould be on moift ftrong ground, 

 otherwife, if the feafon proves hot and dr}', the Spi- 

 nach will run to feed before the plants obtain ftrength, 

 efpecially if the plants do not ftand thin. 

 In order to fave feeds of either of thefe kinds, you 

 Ihould fow an open rich fpot of ground, with the fort 

 you intend in February, after the danger of being in- ' 

 jured by froft is over ; and when the plants are come 

 up, they fhould be hoed but to fix' or eight inches 

 diftance, obferving to cut down the. weeds at the faaie~ 



and when the plants have grown about three 



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weeks or a month longer, they ftiould be hoed a fe-- 

 cond time, when they fhould be left twelve or four- 

 teen inches afunder at leaft, for when they have fhot 

 out their fide branches they will fufficiently fpread 

 over the p-round. '■ "•/ ."' -■'■'^^. ''^ - • 



You muft alfo obferve to keep them clear from weeds, 

 which, if fuffered to grow amongft the Spinach, will 

 caufe it to run up weak, and greatly injure it- 

 -When the plants have run up to flower, you' will ea- 

 fily perceive two forts amongft them, viz. male and 

 female. The male will produce fpikes of ftamineous 

 flowers, which contain the farina, and are abfolutely 

 neceffary to impregnate the embryos of the female 

 plants, in order to render the feeds prolific. ''Thefe 

 male plants are, by the gardenets, commonly called 

 She Spinach, and are often by the ignorant pulled 

 up as foon as they can be dillinguifhed from the fe- 

 male, in order, as they pretend, to give room for 

 the feed-bearing to fpread; but, from feveral experi- 

 ments w^hich I have made on thefe plants, I find where- 

 ever the male plants are entirely removed before the 

 farina is fhed over the female plants, the feed will not 

 grow which they produce, fo that it is abfolutely' ne- 

 ceffary to leave a few of them in every part of the 

 fpot, though there may be a great many drawn out 

 where they are too thick, for a fmall quantity of male 

 plants (if rightly fituated) will be fufficient to impreg- 



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