Cultural Directions. 255 



Long-Standing Summer. Closely resembles the Round- 

 Leaf, but runs to seed a week or more later. For this reason it 

 is decidedly preferable, especially also for the home garden. 



Thick- Leaved. An old market sort, both for spring and 

 fall sowing. 



Viroflay is said to be a more productive strain of this. 



Savoy-Leaved. Leaf somewhat curly, reminding of the 

 Savoy Cabbages. I do not see in it any merits above those of 

 other sorts. 



Prickly. So named from the prickly character of its 

 seeds. 



SUBSTITUTES. Various plants are now used as substitutes 

 for spinach, among them the following : 



New Zealand Spinach, Tetragonia expansa. An annual 

 with spreading stem, and thick, heavy leaves. Seeds large and 

 prickly. Stands the summer heat* remarkably well, and is 

 therefore frequently used in place of spinach during June, July 

 and August, or in very hot and dry locations. 



Orache, Atriplex Hortensis. Annual with broad, arrow- 

 shaped leaves; stands the heat remarkably well, but succeeds 

 best in rich, moist soil. Otherwise treated like spinach. 



Sprouts. Much grown at the south for home and northern 

 markets. See Kale. 



Strawberry Elite, Blitum Capitatum. An annual weed, 

 extremely hardy, and sometimes recommended as a substitute for 

 winter spinach at the extreme north. When loaded with its 

 bright-red, berry-like fruit in spring, it is quite ornamental. 



SQUASH. 



Cucurbita. German, Speise Kurbiss ; French, Courge, 

 Potiron ; Spanish, Calabaza. Their rank growth and demands 

 for space exclude squashes from the market garden, but they can 

 usually be made a profitable crop for' 

 the truck farm. All squashes thrive 

 best in a warm, highly-enriched soil 

 and in a warm location. An old pas- 

 ture or clover field is one of the best 

 selections. Apply good compost lib- 

 erally, plow and harrow well, and plant 

 after the weather has become thor- Summer Crookneck. 

 oughly settled and the ground warm. 



Striped bugs are usually so destructive to the young plants, 

 that it is frequently considered the only safe way to start plants 

 on inverted sods under glass in April or May, in same manner as 

 described for Lima beans, and afterwards plant out in the open 

 field, Mark out rows four feet apart each way for the bush or 



