SPINACH 



665 



be moist, a sowing of the Round- 

 leaved variety is usually made on 

 a spare piece of ground for autumn 

 use. Early in August a large sow- 

 ing of the Prickly-seeded or the 

 Flanders is made broadcast on 

 fields or in rows about 8 in. apart. 

 Some growers prefer the Flanders 

 on account of its large fleshy leaves 

 anS hardy constitution, and it sells 

 in the market better than the Prickly 

 sort. By sowing in the first and 

 last week of August and the middle 

 of September, a succession of 

 Spinach from October till May is 

 easily kept up. Coleworts are fre- 

 quently planted in a field of late 

 Spinach, at 3 or 4 ft. apart. In 

 damp winters a large proportion of 

 the roots may die, but in ordinary 

 winters they survive, and produce 



an abundance of large fleshy leaves 

 in spring. No care is taken with 

 this crop from the time of sowing 

 till gathering, beyond hoeing and 

 thinning once or twice. Spaces 

 under fruit-trees are also covered 

 with Spinach sown broadcast; and 

 as the trees are not furnished with 

 leaves, they do not shade the plants. 

 Open fields are also often sown with 

 Spinach in beds, which are covered 

 by throwing soil over them from 

 the alleys; on these beds Cauli- 

 flowers are also planted, at the 

 usual distances apart. By the time 

 the Spinach has come well up the 

 Cauliflowers will have become well 

 established, so that the Spinach, 

 which as soon as ready is removed 

 for market, does not injure the 

 Cauliflowers. 



USES. The leaves are eaten boiled. 



COMMON SPINACH 

 Spinacia spinosa^ Mcench. ; Spinacia olerac^a a, L. 



Epinard ordinaire. 



This form, which appears to corrre nearer than any other to the 

 wild plant, is now very 

 rarely cultivated, at least 

 in France. It is dis- 

 tinguished by its rather 

 narrow, pointed, arrow- 

 shaped leaves, by having 

 the leaf-stalks tinged with 

 red, and the seed armed 

 with sharp, horn-like 

 prickles. It is not a 

 kind to be recommended. 

 The germinating power of 

 the seeds lasts for five 

 years. 



Large Prickly, or 

 Winter, Spinach. Re- 

 sembling the preceding 

 kind in the seed, this 

 variety is distinguished 



from it by the broadness Large Prickly, or Winter, Spinach ( natural size). 



