M0X0CHLA5IYDE.^. 623 



Amarantkus caudatus, Love-lies-bleeding, Amaranthus hypo- 

 chondriacus, Prince' s-feathers, Cclosia cristata, Cock's-comb, &e. 



Natural Order 183. Chexopodiace^. — The Groosefoot or 

 Spinach Order. — Character. — Herbs or undershriib*. Leaves 

 exstipulate, usually alternate, rarely opposite. Floivers minute, 

 greenish, without bracts, perfect, polygamous or diclinous. 

 Calyx persistent {fig. 682), usually divided nearly to the base 

 {fig. 423), imbricated. Stamens equal in number to the lobes of 

 the calyx and opposite to them {fig. 423), or rarely fewer, hypo- 

 gynous, or inserted into the base of the lobes; anthers 2-celled. 

 Ovary superior {fig. 425) or partly inferior, 1-celled, with a 

 single ovule attached to its base ; style {fig. 425) usually in 2 — 4 

 divisions, rarely simple. Fruit an achsenium, or utricle {fi^g. 

 680), or sometimes baccate. Seed solitary ; embryo with or with- 

 out albumen, with the radicle towards the hilum. 



Diagnosis. — They are chiefly distinguished from the Nycta 

 ginaceae by their habit and non-bracteated flowers. 



Distribution, ^r. — ]More or less distributed over the globe, but 

 most abundant in extra-tropical regions. Ea:amples of the 

 Genera: — Salicornia, Atriplex, Spinacia, Beta, Chenopodium, 

 Salsola. There are above 500 species. 



Properties and Uses. — Several plants of this order inhabit salt- 

 marshes, and yield by combustion an ash called barilla, from 

 which carbonate of soda was formerly principally obtained, but 

 its use for this purpose has much fallen off of late years, in con- 

 sequence of that substance being more readily extracted from other 

 sources. The plants which thus yield barilla principally belong 

 to the genera, Salsola, Salicornia, CJienopodium, and Atriplex. 

 Many plants of the order are esculent, as Beet and Mangold- 

 Wurzel ; and some are used as pot-herbs, as Spinach or Spinage 

 {Spinacia o^eracea).(jta,vdie-a. Orache or Mountain Spinach {Atriplex 

 hortensis), and English Mercury {Chenopodiuni Bonus Henricus). 

 The seeds of ethers are nutritious ; and several contain volatile 

 oil, which renders them anthelmintic, antispasmodic, aromatic, 

 carminative, and stimulant. 



Beta. — The root of Beta vulgaris, the Common Beefc, is used as a salad, 

 and as a vegetable. It is largely cultivated on the continent and elsewhere 

 as a source of sugar. Two varieties of the Beet are commonly gro-vvn for 

 sugar ; namely, that which is known under the name of Betterare a Sucre, 

 and the "White or Silesian Beet (Beta Ctcia). The latter variety is the most 

 esteemed. In 1868 about 8,000,0i)0 tons of Beet root were gi-o-mi, yielding 

 about 650,000 tons of sugar. Attempts have been made of late years to 

 grow beet in this country, and there can be no doubt but that there are many 

 districts in which it might be cultivated with success. The grated root or 

 sugar cake, and the molasses, which are refuse substances obtained in the 

 manufacture of beet sugar, are also useful, the former for feeding cattle, and 

 the latter, when mixed with water plightly acidulated with sulphuric acid, 

 and submitted to fermentation, yield fi-om '24 to 30 per cent, of spirit, 

 which is said to be used to adulterate brandy like potato spirit. A variety 

 of the Common Beet (Beta vulgaris macrovhiza) is the M^angold-Wurzel, so 

 much used as a food for cattle. B. maritima is sometimes used as a substi- 

 tute for spinach or greens. The petioles and midribs of the leaves of the 



