1871.] THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 353 



pricked off leaf by leaf, and not torn indiscriminately in handfuls, leav- 

 ing a mass of broken leaves, which are more likely to suffer in conse- 

 quence of such mutilation. During severe black frost some protection 

 should be afforded to the crop, and a very good way of doing so is 

 either to stick some Evergreen boughs between the rows, or to lightly 

 shake a little clean straw over them. 



The latest of the two autumn sowings will generally keep up the 

 supply till the round Spinach, generally sown in February or early in 

 March, comes in. Shelter being of great importance in forwarding this 

 early spring sowing, I have found it an excellent way to sow it between 

 the rows of early Peas in a warm south border. In such a position, 

 the Pea-stakes and Peas shelter it from the cold w^inds of spring, and 

 it is much earlier ready for gathering than when sown in ground exclu- 

 sively devoted to itself. Up till the middle of June a sowing of round 

 Spinach should be put in every fourteen days ; and as it has a great 

 tendency to run to seed without producing leaves that are fit for use in 

 dry warm weather, the ground should be deeply worked and heavily 

 manured; and every sowing should be properly thinned out, as directed 

 for autumn sowings, for if left thick, a crop of tough worthless leaves 

 is the result. Generally a row of Spinach is sown between rows of 

 Peas, and such is a very good position for it in the heat of summer, as 

 it gets shade to some extent from the Peas. 



With the most careful management and very frequent sowings, it is 

 not easy to produce fine Spinach in July, August, and September, espe- 

 cially in light sandy soil ; and to give a certain supply for this season, 

 the New Zealand Spinach is invaluable. It was discovered on the 

 shores of New Zealand by Captain Cook, and the expeditionists were 

 induced to try it as an esculent, and found it wholesome and agreeable; 

 and it owes its instalment amongst English garden vegetables to Sir 

 Joseph Banks, who introduced it into cultivation about 1772 : since 

 then it has been found a much more hardy plant than it was at first 

 considered to be, and is of great importance to every gardener who is 

 required to produce a supply of Spinach daily through the hottest 

 months of the year. The drier and hotter the weather, the more luxu- 

 riantly it grows, and a score of plants properly cultivated will yield 

 supply sufiicient for a large family from the end of July till the end of 

 October. In England I have seen it come up self-sown, but in this 

 way it is too late to be useful ; and it is necessary to sow it in heat 

 about the middle of April, and when ready to be potted put three 

 into a 5-inch pot, and kept in heat till they have well filled the pots. 

 They are hardened off, and planted out the end of May or early in 

 June. Select a border with southern exposure, and take out pits 6 

 feet apart, and fill them up with rotten dung and fresh soil in equal 



