NEW ZEALAND SPINACH. 287 



three eighths of an inch deep, three eighths of an inch in 

 diameter at the top or broadest part, hard and wood-like in 

 texture, rude in form, but somewhat urn-shaped, with four or 

 five horn-like points at the top. Three hundred and twenty- 

 five of these fruits are contained in an ounce ; and they are 

 generlly sold and recognized as the seeds. They are, how- 

 ever, really the fruit, six or eight of the true seeds being 

 contained in each. They retain their germinative powers 

 five years. 



Propagation and Culture. It is always raised from seed, 

 which may be sown in the open ground from April to July. 

 Select a rich, moist soil, pulverize it well, and rake the sur- 

 face smooth. Make the drills three feet apart, and an inch 

 and a half or two inches deep, and sow the seed thinly, or so 

 as to secure a plant for each foot of row. In five or six 

 weeks from the planting, the branches will have grown suffi- 

 ciently to allow the gathering of the leaves for use. If the 

 season should be dry, the plants will require watering. 

 They grow vigorously, and in good soil will extend, before 

 the end of the season, three feet in each direction. 



Gathering. The leaves, which are the parts of the plant 

 used, are gathered as they are developed, leaving the ends 

 of the young shoots uninjured. If not cut to excess, the 

 plants will yield abundantly till destroyed by frost. The 

 leaves retain their fresh, succulent character after they are 

 fully grown, and even under the influence of the heat and 

 drought incident to the summer months. No one of the 

 family of Spinaceous Plants is more easily raised, and few, 

 if any, are more productive. 



Anderson, one of its first cultivators, had but nine plants, 

 which furnished a gathering for the table every other day 

 from the middle of June. A bed of a dozen healthy plants 

 will afford a daily supply for the table of a large family. 



Seed. To raise seed, leave two or three plants in the 



