SPINA CHS TRA WE ERR Y 121 



may be sown in pots or pans at the end of March or beginning of 

 April. The seedlings must be transferred to small pots immediately 

 they are large enough, and be gradually hardened in preparation for 

 removal to the open ground towards the end of May. They should 

 be put into light soil in a sunny position, and be allowed three or 

 four feet apart each way. It is not unusual to grow them on a heap 

 of used potting soil, where they can ramble without restraint. The 

 growth is rapid, and there must be no stint of water in dry weather. 

 In five or six weeks the first lot of tender shoots will be ready for 

 pinching off. Those who do not care to incur trouble under glass 

 may sow in the open in the early part of May, and thin the plants to 

 the distance named. 



PERPETUAL SPINACH, OR SPINACH BEET. (Beta Cicla.) This is 

 a true Beet, although it has only an ordinary tap-root. It is, how- 

 ever, a valuable plant for producing a continuous supply of leaves 

 which make an excellent Spinach at a period of the year when the 

 ordinary Summer Spinach is past its prime. For beet-roots a rich 

 soil is objectionable, because it results in coarseness ; but as roots are 

 not a consideration in this case, and an abundant growth of leaves is 

 wanted, there should be liberal treatment. Sow in March and April, 

 and again at the end of July or beginning of August, in rows one 

 foot apart, and thin the plants to a distance of six or eight inches in 

 the rows. When the leaves are ready for gathering, they must be 

 removed, whether wanted or not, to insure continued growth. 



STRAWBERRY 



(Fragarid] 



PROBABLY the first thought will be that the Strawberry is a fruit, and 

 that the consideration of its treatment is out of place in a series of 

 articles on the culture of vegetables. The answer is that the plant 

 forms an essential feature in every good kitchen garden, and the 

 general routine of work has to be arranged with due regard to this 

 crop, so that we make no apology for alluding to it here. 



The Strawberry is the most certain of all our hardy fruits, and 

 is much valued both for eating fresh as a summer luxury and as a 

 preserve for winter use. Although it deserves the best of cultivation, 

 its needs are few, for under the poorest system of management it is 

 often extremely fruitful, and not unseldom the m^st profitable crop 



