AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



427 



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rock- garden and is well known for its medici- 

 nal properties. 



Spiguel. A common name for Meum Athamanti- 

 cum. 



Spike. A long, simple axis, with many sessile 

 flowers. A compound spike is a collection of 

 spikes arranged in a racemose manner. 



Spike Grass. See Brizopyrum spicatum. 



Spikelet. A secondary spike ; the term is 

 especially applied to the small terminal col- 

 lection of florets in grasses. 



Spikenard. See Aralia racemosa. 

 Cretan. Valeriana Phu. 

 False. Smilacina racemosa. 

 Mountain. Valeriaiia tuberosa. 

 Ploughman's. Conyza squarrosa and the genus 



Bacrharis. 

 West Indian. Hyptis suaveolens. 



Spiiiach. Common Garden. See Spinacia. 

 Cuban. Olaytonia Cubensis. 

 East Indian. Basella alba, and B. rubra. 

 New Zealand. See Tetragonia expansa. 

 Strawberry. BlUum capitatum. 

 Wild. A common name for Chenopodium 

 Bonus- Henricus. 



Spina'cia. From spina, a prickle ; in allusion 

 to the prickly processes of the seeds. Nat. 

 Ord. Chenopodiacece. 



The common Spinach is a hardy annual, and 

 supposed to be a native of Western Asia, from 

 the fact that in the early works of the Arabian 

 physicians this plant is mentioned in connec- 

 tion with its medical properties, without the 

 slightest allusion to its uses as a vegetable. 

 Spain is supposed to have been the first Euro- 

 pean country into which it was introduced ; for 

 many of the old botanists call it Olus Hispani- 

 ciim, and some of the old writers call it His- 

 panach or Spanish Plant. Beckmann, who 

 wrote about 1790, says the first notice of its 

 being used as a vegetable was in 1351, in a list 

 of the different vegetables consumed on fast 

 days by the monks. Turner, who wrote in Eng- 

 land in 1538, mentions its being in common cul- 

 tivation, and prepared for the table in precisely 

 the same manner as it is at present. Spinach 

 is an annual plant, having large and succulent 

 leaves ; the flower-stems rise to the height of 

 two or three feet. The male and female flow- 

 ers grow on different plants, the female yield- 

 ing the seed. The former are produced in 

 long terminal spikes, and the latter in close 

 clusters at the joints of the stem or axils of 

 the leaves or branches. S. oleracea is the only 

 known species, and from this the several garden 

 varieties have been obtained. The smooth 

 Round Leaf is the variety mostly grown for 

 market ; the Prickly Leaved is more hardy, 

 and is. therefore, the kind which used to be 

 sown in the fall for a first early spring crop, 

 until the variety known as the Savoy Spinach 

 was introduced in 1875. This has a crumpled 

 leaf resembling Savoy Cabbage, and is now 

 extensively cultivated, particularly as a fall or 

 winter sort, as it has proved hardier than any 

 of the others, and produces a greater weight 

 of crop. It has the fault, however, of running 

 up sooner to seed than the Round Leaved, and, 

 for that reason, is not so good to sow in spring. 

 The variety known as "Thick-leaved " is one 

 of the best market sorts. It produces a large, 

 thick, strong, green leaf somewhat crumpled, 

 and possesses the valuable quality of standing 



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a long time before running to seed. This 

 variety is equally good for spring or fall. 

 The "Long Standing" is another variety that 

 possesses the peculiarity of standing a long 

 time before running to seed, but in all other 

 respects, it is very similar to the well-known 

 "Round Leaf." Another variety, the "Large 

 Round-leaved Viroflay " is a heavy growing 

 sort, much resembling the "Thick-leaved." 

 It is a good cropper and hardy. 



Spinach in the latitude of New York should 

 be sown from the fifth to the fifteenth of Sep- 

 tember, in rows twelve to fifteen inches apart. 

 It is important with this, as with most other 

 seeds, to firm the soil by treading on the rows 

 with the feet, or using a heavy roller after 

 sowing, as otherwise, if the weather is dry, 

 the seed may be shriveled, so that it will not 

 germinate if loosely covered. In all sections 

 of the country where the thermometer falls 

 below zero, and where there is not a certainty 

 of snow for a covering, the Spinach should be 

 covered up on the approach of severe weather 

 (which is usually about the middle of Decem- 

 ber) with hay, straw, or leaves, to the depth 

 of two or three inches, which covering should 

 be allowed to remain until the Spinach begins 

 to show green through it in the spring. 



Spindle-shaped. Tapering to each end. like a 

 Radish. 



Spindle Tree. The genus Euonymus. 



Spine. A stiff, sharp-pointed body, consisting 

 of woody tissue covered with cellular tissue ; 

 a thorn. 



Spinescent. Terminating in a sharp point or 

 spine. 



Spinose. Furnished with spines; of a spiny 

 character. 



Spirae'a. From speirao, to become spiral ; in 

 allusion to the flexile branches being suitable 

 for twisting into garlands. Nat. Ord. Ros- 

 icem. 



A genus of over fifty species of deciduous, 

 hardy shrubs or herbaceous perennials,broadly 

 dispersed over the temperate regions of the 

 northern hemisphere. Many of the shrubby 

 species, with white or pink flowers, make 

 beautiful plants for the lawn or shrubberj% as 

 they grow in almost any situation, and continue 

 a long time in bloom. Several of our native 

 species, as S. opulifolia (Nine Bark) and its 

 golden-leaved variety, 8. o. aurea, S. salicifolia 

 and S. tomentosa, are very handsome, and the 

 various species introduced from China, Japan, 

 etc., are exceedingly ornamental and useful 

 as decorative plants. To assist those who 

 wish a continuance of bloom we give a list of 

 the most desirable species in the order of their 

 blooming, from May to the middle of August : 

 (l) S. prunifoliafl.pl., S. Thunbergii, S. Nicon- 

 derti ; (2) S. cratmgifolia, S- lanceolafa and its 

 varieties, S. trilobata. S. van Houllei ; (3) S. 

 opulifolia aurea, S. crenata, S. Fontenaysii, S. 

 salicifolia, S. sorhifolia, S. BiUardi; (4) S. 

 eana, S. aricefolia, S. Japonica var. Bumalda, 

 and the various varieties of S. callosa. Of the 

 herbaceous species, S. lobata (Queen of the 

 Prairies), one of the most stately of all the 

 herbaceous Splrseas, is common in meadows 

 in Pennsj^lvania and south and westward. 

 The flowers are very handsome, of a deep 

 peach-color, produced in clustered panicles on 

 long, naked peduncles. It is greatly improved 



