THE PI.ANT WORI.D 267 



foliage except for a few inches of pale green crown at the top. In very 

 dark, damp places in the virgin forest one may find clumps of shoots as 

 white as sprouts from a potato. 



The wood possesses qualities which fit it for many uses. In color it 

 shades from light cherry to dark mahogany. It is easily worked, takes 

 a beautiful polish, and is one of the most durable of the coniferous 

 woods of California. It resists decay so well that trees which have lain 

 500 years in the forest have been sent to the mill and sawed into lumber. 

 The wood is without resin, and offers a strong resistance to fire, as the 

 record of fires in San Francisco, where it is much used, indicate. Insects 

 seldom injure it, because of an acid element it contains. In sea water, 

 however, the marine teredo eats off Redwood piling as readily as other 

 timber. 



Redwood timber, says Dr. Herman von Schrenk, of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industr)^ possesses lasting qualities scarcely equaled by any other 

 wood. Although very light and porous, it has antiseptic properties 

 which prevent the growth of decay -producing fungi. So far as is now 

 known, none of the ordinary wood-rotting fungi grows in Redwood 

 timber. It is because of its resistance to most forms of decay that the 

 Redwood reaches such a great age. 



Spinach in Winter. — On private places there are a number of cold 

 frames which can be used to good advantage if given to spinach. A 

 sowing made now will make nice spinach by Christmas. The best variety 

 in my experience is Bloomingdale Savoy Ivcaved. The seed can be sown 

 in shallow drills about 8 inches apart, covered with the hand and raked 

 lightly to smooth the surface. If the soil be very dry, a light sprinkling 

 may be given with the rose on the water can. Another sowing made 

 about ten days later can be wintered over and gathered in early March 

 at a time when vegetables are scarce. The soil between the rows should 

 be constantly stirred and watered freely. The sash can be left off 

 entirely till the nights get very cold, when they can be put on, and even 

 then a little air, say about 4 inches, may be left on till hard freezing 

 weather sets in. An abundance of air may be given on fine days, and 

 when the glass goes below 16 degrees at night, the frames should remain 

 closed. If these directions be followed you will be rewarded with a crop 

 that will well repay you for all the labor. — America7i Gardenhig . 



